Railways to introduce Kerala's first double-decker train service in Palakkad

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state's first double-decker train service will begin soon in Palakkad. The plan is to extend one of the two trains operating in Tamil Nadu to Palakkad. Uday Express, which runs from Bengaluru to Coimbatore, may be extended to Palakkad.

The priority will be to the train reaching Pollcahi from Madurai via Dindigul. This train is likely to be extended to Palakkad. A test run was conducted on the Coimbatore - Palakkad route on April 18 last year. Four bogies, including two double-decker bogies, were in the test run.

Southern Railway had examined the possibility of running a double-decker service from Madurai to Thiruvananthapuram. However, the plan was dropped after the tracks between the stations were not deemed fit for the train. In South India, Kerala is the only state without a double-decker service. Tamil Nadu has three such trains.

The double-decker service in the state was hampered by the low height of the road bridges over the tracks. There are large bridges in places, including Vallathol Nagar and Shoranur. It would be expensive to demolish and rebuild these. Railways have scrapped the double-decker service project across the state, citing this obstruction.

The KSR Bengaluru Uday Express, which conducted a trial run on the Palakkad route, is the first AC chair car train.