written by G.V.Ramesh
This is a study conducted not aiming at vande bharat train but genuine dificulties faced by ordinary passengers especially villagers, a silent majority with no power whatsoever.
Content:
For decades, the Indian Railways has been the lifeline for the common man—students, farmers, daily wage earners, and villagers. But on the crucial Chennai–Villupuram–Tiruchirappalli–Madurai–Nagercoil corridor, a silent crisis is unfolding.
While the new Vande Bharat Express promises speed for the few, ordinary passengers are being forced to pay the price with cancelled services, unusable timings, and reduced frequency.
The 4:55 AM Reality: A Service for No One
On the Villupuram to Tiruchirappalli section, a dedicated MEMU service once ran at a convenient morning hour. Today, only one remains: Train No. 56111, scheduled to depart at 04:55 AM.
Ask yourself: Who can travel at 4:55 AM?
- Not the college student needing to reach Tiruchirappalli by 9:00 AM.
- Not the office worker to join work.
- Not the trader heading to the market.
This timing is not an accident. It is a deliberate operational choice to clear the single-line track before the Vande Bharat Express (departing Chennai at 5:00 AM) reaches Villupuram. By pushing the ordinary train to dawn, the Railways guarantees the premium train an empty, high-speed path. The result? A “ghost train” to most of the starting station and most of the village based stations, while thousands are forced onto expensive private buses.
The Missing Morning Link: Tiruchirappalli to Madurai
The situation worsens further south. Between Tiruchirappalli and Madurai, the dedicated morning MEMU service has effectively vanished.
- Before: Two daily passenger trains served this route.
- Now: Search in depth, if you find one, ordinary passengers will be happy..
- The Impact: Students and workers in Dindigul, Sholavandan, and Manapparai and the village based stations , position still worse
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Madurai – Tirunelveli – Nagercoil Section:
- Fact: Be happy if you find one, less written, more better.
- Impact: Ordinary passengers are forced to travel incomplete distances or pay premium fares on other expresses, while the Vande Bharat skips these intermediate stations entirely.
Two-Tier System: Speed for Some, Stranded for Many
The Railways claims these are “optimizations.” But the ground reality tells a different story:
- Services Cut: Over 50% or 100 %reduction in usable ordinary train options.
- Timing Sabotage: Trains are scheduled at times no human can reasonably use.
- Silent Withdrawal: Services are technically “running” on paper but are short-terminated or cancelled for months at a time.
This is not progress. This is negligence. A public transport system must serve the millions, not just the
The Core Grievance:
The Railways claims these are “temporary cancellations” or “schedule optimizations.” However, the ground reality is a permanent structural reduction in capacity. The pattern is clear: ordinary trains are either cancelled, short-terminated, or pushed to unusable hours (like 4:55 AM) to ensure the Vande Bharat faces no delays.
This creates a two-tier system: high-speed luxury for the few, and fragmented, unreliable connectivity for the millions who depend on railways for their daily livelihood.
What needs to be done:
- Restore Usable Timings: Immediately reschedule Train No. 56111 (Villupuram–Tiruchirappalli) to a civilized departure time between 07:00 AM and 08:00 AM. If the Vande Bharat must wait at a loop line for a few minutes to allow this, so be it; public utility must trump marginal speed gains.
- Reintroduce Withdrawn Services: Restore the second dedicated MEMU on the Villupuram–Tiruchirappalli section and the morning MEMU on the Tiruchirappalli–Madurai section immediately.
- Stop “Perma-Temporary” Cancellations: Issue a directive that ordinary MEMU/Passenger trains cannot be partially cancelled or short-terminated for more than 7 consecutive days.
- Prioritize the Common Man: Ensure that slot allocation balances the needs of premium and ordinary passengers. The railway is a public service, not a premium luxury corridor.
Finally, to conclude, this is not the only section where it is occurring ,not an isolated one but a systemic pattern throughout.For example, it is also there in Prayagraj section towards New Delhi, Vadodora –Surat section, Jolarpettai-Bangurupet section towards Bengaluru, its universal, the ultimate sufferer not the villagers but the village economy as a whole. The problem lies in not listening to their genuine voices and communications but the policy maker, General Managers of each railway,should find ways to activate the lifeline of indian railways , the village stations.
Nobody is against superfast trains but that is not the only LIFELINE OF INDIA, which INDIAN RAILWAYS STANDS FOR.