Title - Egmore Express passengers to put up with long, bumpy bus ride

TRICHY: People from Thanjavur and Kumbakonam intending to board the Mannargudi-Chennai Egmore Express on April 7 and 8 will be cursing the railway authorities as a temporary change in the train route will cause severe inconvenience to them. They will have to carry their luggage by road on a special bus all the way up to Myladuthurai at night, a distance of 70 km and 31 km from Thanjavur and Kumbakonam, respectively as the said train is taking a detour via Needamangalam and Tiruvarur before reaching Myladuthurai on account of railway works.The train won't be taking the usual Thanjavur-Kumbakonam-Myladuthurai route as the Railways is conducting works on non-interlocked lines and yards between April 3 and 9. The train has to skip Thanjavur as five lines at the railway station there are yet to be linked to the mainline, though two of them were recently converted into broad gauge.As per the revised schedule, Mannargudi-Chennai Egmore Express will leave Mannargudi at 9.15 pm, touches Thanjavur at 10.35 pm, goes further to Kumbakonam at 11.20 pm and reaches Myladuthurai at 11.55 pm. Railways announced that the passengers from Thanjavur and Kumbakonam would be taken by bus up to Myladuthurai.

Since the train would bypass Needamangalam (9.45 pm) over the next two days, Sunday and Monday (April 7 and 8), as many as 267 passengers who had booked on the Egmore Express from Thanjavur have been told to assemble at Thanjavur railway station at 9 pm. Similarly, around 150 passengers starting from Kumbakonam were advised to assemble at Kumbakonam railway station at 10 pm.

Earlier on Saturday morning, these passengers were told to gather at Thanjavur station at 10.30 pm and at Kumbakonam station at 11 pm. Railways revised the timings later as the condition of the 70-km Thanjavur-Myladuthurai road is bad, the bus carrying passengers from Thanjavur station won't reach Myladuthurai station on time. It is not known why Kumbakonam passengers too were asked to come one hour ahead of their earlier scheduled time, though they have to cover only a distance of 30 km to reach Myladuthurai station.

As the sleeper class passengers were muttering under their breath as they were suddenly confronted with the prospect of carrying their cumbersome luggage and their children through the bus ride in the middle of the night, the second and third AC passengers were told that they would have to share the common bus ride until Myladuthurai, and there was no special treatment.