Thiruvananthapuram: The railways are yet to take steps to equip the Kollam-Punalur-Sengottai ghat route to handle 22-coach trains by extending platforms of major railway stations . Recently, platforms of Aryankavu and Ezhukone railway stations were extended to accommodate 18-coach trains so that the express train from Kollam to Chennai Egmore can be operated. However, there is no move yet after surveys were conducted to extend the platforms of the stations further to accommodate longer Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) trains, which have 22-24 coaches.
A successful trial run has revealed that the route is capable of supporting trains with 24 coaches , including Vistadome trains, indicating potential upgrades in the future. Kollam-Sengottai Railway passengers association secretary Dipu Ravi said railways should start the work now to increase the passenger capacity of the trains. “"Only two stations — Punalur and Avaneeswaram railway stations — have platforms for 22-coach trains.
The platforms need to be extended for the rest of the stations to 570m.” Kundara, Kottarakara, platform one of Avaneeswaram, Aryankavu, and Thenmala will need extensions to run express trains that have more coaches. In Jan, the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) held a trial using 22 LHB coaches, including a Vistadome coach, along the ghat route to understand if the line is safe to run longer trains.
The railways are also considering increasing the speed of trains to 80kmph as the line h.