more-in The Government of Puducherry has requested the Ministry of Railways to implement a package of demands, including introduction of a Mainline Electrical Multiple Unit (MEMU) service between Puducherry and Villupuram and a new railway line between Puducherry and Cuddalore (as part of Chennai (Perungudi)-Cuddalore railway line), on a priority basis. A press note from S. D. Sundaresan, Transport Commissioner, said that in view of long-felt need to improve rail coverage in this sector, the government had also asked the Railway Ministry to extend Tindivanam-Nageri Railway line up to Puducherry and re-introduce broad gauge railway line between Karaikal and Peralam. Shatabdi trains Besides, requests have also been placed to introduce Shatabdi/Jan Shatabdi trains covering destinations such as Chennai and Bengaluru. According to the press note, the Puducherry railway station which falls under jurisdiction of Tiruchi Railway Division of Southern Railways is at present served by passenger/express/super fast trains to 12 destinations such as Villupuram, Chennai (Egmore), Tirupati, Kanyakumari, Mangalore, Yeshvantpur, Bhubaneswar, Dadar, Howrah, Santagrachi and New Delhi. In a week, 109 train trips originate and terminate at Puducherry railway station. The services include three daily trains to Villupuram, two trains to Chennai (Egmore) and one daily to Tirupati. The trains bound to Santagrachi and New Delhi also pass through Chennai (Egmore) railway station while the trains en route also cover cities or towns such as Kumbakonam, Tiruchi, Tirunelveli, Vellore, Salem, Coimbatore, Nellore, Vijayawada, Vishakapatnam, Nagpur, Agra and Kharagpur. The details of daily train arrivals and departures are now made available in the website of Transport Department at www.transport.puducherry.gov.in. Seeking increased patronage for the railway services through Puducherry, the press note stated that as more travellers shift to rail mode, a stronger case could be made with the Ministry of Railways to approve more projects to the UT of Puducherry.

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