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Railways announced this year as 'passenger satisfaction year'. The combination of Minister of State for Railways A K Moorthy and Southern Railway general manager V Anand worked out well and both of them tried their best to make this year a 'truly' passenger satisfaction year.

There are many unsung heroes (the employees) in Southern Railway who have worked hard to make the dreams of Moorthy and Anand come true.

There was an increase in passenger traffic, with the number of trains being increased.

• Chennai Egmore-Guruvayur daily express, inaugurated on January 18

• Ernakulam-Kallikottai day express, inaugurated on January 19

• Coimbatore-Thanjavur Janshatabdi express, inaugurated on January 20

• Chennai Central-Avadi AC/DC electrical multiple unit (EMU), inaugurated on March 1

• Kancheepuram-Chennai Beach additional EMU, inaugurated on April 14

• Chennai Central-Vasco da Gama weekly express, inaugurated on May 25

• Chennai Egmore-Erode daily express, inaugurated on July 1

• Chennai Central-Bangalore weekend express inaugurated on July 4

• Jolarpet-Arakkonam MEMU extended up to Chennai Central on August 24

• Chennai Central-Nagercoil weekend express via Erode, inaugurated on September 12

• Anna Nagar-Villivakam suburban train, inaugurated on October 2

• Chengalpattu-Arakkonam suburban train via Chennai Beach, inaugurated on October 19

It was a busy year as far as Tamil Nadu was concerned because there was one new train or some activity regarding trains happening right through the year, almost every month. 

This year was also a year of new trains: Six new trains, as announced in the Railway Budget, were inaugurated - Chennai Egmore-Erode daily express, Chennai Central-Bangalore weekend express, Chennai Central-Dehradun/Chandigarh weekly express, Chennai Central-Vasco da Gama weekly express,Trivandrum- Jodhpur weekly express, Salem-Yesvantpur fast passenger.

There was a demand from the people for passenger ticket reservation centres at places where there was no railway station and at district headquarters. The ministry took note of the demand and Minister Moorthy inaugurated reservation centres at:

1. Integral Coach Factory (ICF)
2. Paramakudi
3. Manamadurai
4. Vrriddhachalam
5. Mahabalipuram
6. Kottarakara
7. Pollachi
8. Tiruvannamalai
9. Jolarpet

As population increased, passenger and freight traffic also increased, resulting in congestion in various sections. So, Southern Railway took up the enormous task of gauge conversion and it was also successful in its endeavour to increase passenger and freight traffic after the work was completed.

The credit for getting approvals quickly from the Railway Board goes to Moorthy and the credit for completing the projects in the stipulated time goes to the staff of various divisions of Southern Railway. The schemes completed in this year are:

• Virudhachalam-Vadalur, inaugurated on April 16

• Virudhunagar-Rajapalayam, inaugurated on June 1

• Kayankulam-Cheppadu-Haripadu doubling, inaugurated on October 23

• Kayankulam-Mavelikara doubling, inaugurated on October 23

• Chengalpattu-Tambaram, inaugurated on December 29

• Cuddalore-Vadalur, inaugurated on December 12

Some other key projects were also completed.

1. Chennai-Bangalore-Secunderabad optical fibre cable (OFC) link was established on June 26
2. Suburban broad gauge inspection car shed at Tambaram was inaugurated on August 3

A new WDP-4 diesel engine, with state-of-the-art technology, was introduced on October 22. 

Due to high cost and reduce in the availability of petroleum products, Southern Railway had a vision to introduce biodisel. So, on March 15, Moorthy planted more trees for that purpose.

People preferred to travel by train than road, due to various factors, including cheaper travel. So, there was a need to increase the number of trains on various routes. Minister Moorthy laid the foundation stone for some important projects. They are:

• Pattabiram-Tiruvallur 4th line, on February 8

• Renovation of Chidambaram railway station

• Chennai Egmore-Central linkage, inaugurated by Union Minister for Railways Nitish Kumar with Moorthy and the then Minister of State for Railways Bandaru Dattatraya, on April 16

• Kottarakara-Avaneswaram broad gauge conversion, on May 18

• Renovation of Mavellikara railway station on May 18

Passenger amenities:

• Tambaram and Pazhavanthangal stations were equipped with new passenger reservation centres and waiting rooms on January 13

• Pantry car facility was introduced in Koodal express on March 23

• Automatic voice response system launched on March 31

• Additional air-conditioned waiting rooms were inaugurated at Chennai Central and Egmore stations on April 26

• Facilities were made at Nagercoil to maintain coaches at there and this was inaugurated on May 20

• With a view to avoid more rail accidents, SR went forward with the fitting of anti-collision device (ACD) in all trains. In the first phase, it was tested on an engine running between Chennai Central and Jolarpet on May 27

• An oil-fired steam locomotive of the Nilgiris Mountain Railway from Mettupalayam to Coonoor was inaugurated.

• Moorthy also inspected the Royapuram station, which was in a dilapidated condition and assured that the station would be modernised.

But, as announced by the ministry, Salem division was not created till the end of this year.

The Railway Ministry states that it has given utmost priority to passenger satisfaction and has been successful in it.