Passenger train fare hiked steeply

Congress minorities wing district president              J Suresh and vice president and former Southern Railway advisory committee member KN Batchaa condemned steep hike in passenger train fare on par with express train fare in the Erode-Jolarpet passenger train to be operated from May 2, after two years of stoppage due to corona, following many plea to the railway ministry. 

The train will leave Erode at 6.25 am and reach Jolarpet at 12.10 pm moving via Erode, Sankagiri, Salem, Morappur and Tirupati.  Previously, the train fare was Rs 10 to Sankagiri from Erode.  Now, the fare is Rs.30. The fare to Salem was hiked from Rs 15 to Rs 40, the fare to Morappur is Rs 55, Thirupathur and Jolarpet is Rs 75.  The bus fare from Erode to Sankagiri is Rs.17 but by train fare  is Rs.30. So, how will the passengers travel in the train, he asked. Similarly,  the bus fare to Salem is Rs. 43 but the train fare is Rs 40. They pleaded to the railway ministry to restore the passenger train fare instead of express fare.  The train will depart from Jolarpet at 3.10 pm and reach Erode at 7.45 pm.

Similarly, passenger trains from Erode to Palakkad, Erode to Tirunelveli, Erode to Trichy, Erode to Mettur, Coimbatore to Salem have been suspended for more than two years.  They pleaded to  the Southern Railway to take action to operate such trains besides Coimbatore-Thoothukudi Link (Link) Express trains.