Date:19/11/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/11/19/stories/2007111950350100.htm

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Southern Railway passenger earnings up

S. Vijay Kumar

MADURAI: The Madurai division of the Southern Railway has recorded a growth of 16.17 per cent in passenger earnings.

Despite the closure of 296 km of meter gauge (MG) section for gauge conversion and fall in number of passengers on the commuter sector, the division managed to post an increase on the revenue front.

According to the Divisional Railway Manager, Hemant Kumar, the division earned Rs.111.65 crore during April-October 2007 compared to Rs.96.11 crore last year. The closure of the Madurai-Dindigul and Manamadurai-Karaikudi MG sections led to a fall in the number of passengers by 12.5 per cent. However, the increase in passengers travelling on long distance routes kept the income steady. In order to clear the extra rush of passengers during Vijayadasami, Deepavali and other festival occasions, the division operated 755 special trains, including 19 on MG.

The 61-km Manamadurai-Karaikudi and Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur sections closed for BG conversion would be opened to traffic during the current fiscal. The new bridge across Vaigai River in Madurai, which is part of the Madurai-Dindigul doubling project, would be completed along with Dindigul-Kodaikanal Road by March.