Karur: Train passengers touching Karur junction on Saturday were in for a pleasant surprise as the railway station authorities distributed sweets to them to mark the historic completion of 150 years of train service operations from here.
According to Vijayakumar Roy, station superintendent of Karur rail junction, train services between Tiruchirappalli and Erode via Karur had been commenced by the then British rulers on December 3, 1866, on metre gauge and it was converted to broad gauge subsequently. He said goods traffic commenced from Karur Railway station in 1890 for which a weighing machine was brought from London.
It has the capacity to weigh up to one tonne and is still in working condition, he added. The new broad gauge railway line between Karur and Dindigul was established after 120 years, which was declared opened for traffic from the Karur rail junction by the then Prime MInister Rajiv Gandhi in 1988. After ten years, a new broad gauge line connecting Salem and Karur has also been laid.
Mr. Roy further said the Karur rail junction is an ‘A grade Railway Station’ which is handling 36 trains including a few express trains, every day, besides handling more than 4,000 passengers a day.
