Rajasthanis seek more trains from Chennai

Chennai: Over 400 Rajasthani settlers in the city raised their voice to introduce a daily train and extend two more trains to cities in Rajasthan from Chennai – a 14-year-old demand the community has been addressing with the Southern Railway.

“The Chennai-Jodhpur Express that started 15 years ago as a weekly train is the only train that connects Chennai to Rajasthan directly, while Bengaluru that has the same number of Rajasthani population has seven trains daily. Until 2005, we at least had two trains every week during the winter season. Later that was cancelled,” Tiger Ashok Rajpurohit, president, TNRPES (Tamil Nadu Rajasthani Pravasi Ekta Sangh) told DC.

Members of this organisation will be meeting the railway minister to raise the issue. General manager of Southern Railway was very positive on its demands and has agreed to take necessary steps on this matter, he added.

The demonstration was staged in front of the collectorate on Friday with members of TN RPES raising slogans demanding that the weekly Chennai–Jodhpur train be converted to daily train.

They also sought the extension of daily Ahmedabad train up to Barmer or Jodhpur via Bhildi, Jalore and the induction of a new train from Chennai to Ajmer via Ahmedabad.

The weekly Jodhpur bound trains have been running full for the past two months, IRCTC officials said.