Sweets being distributed to mark the beginning of the centenary year of the Mayiladuthurai-Tharangambadi railway line at an event held in Mayiladuthurai Junction on Tuesday.
Members of the Mayiladuthurai-Tharangambadi Train Restoration Committee, train users and other service organisations commemorated the beginning of centenary year of the opening of the Mayiladuthurai-Tharangambadi rail link by organising a get together at the Mayiladuthurai Junction on Tuesday.
The railway line via Mannampandal, Sembarnarkoil, Thirukadaiyur, Thillaiyadi and Porayar was originally laid as a metre gauge track during the colonial era in the 1920s. The ‘Mayavaram-Tranquebar’ Railway line, which was opened on November 25, 1926, was in operation for 60 years till 1986, after which the section was closed. The heritage route with good tourism potential should be revived, the committee reiterated on the occasion.
The committee has been suggesting the revival of the the 30-km-long rail link, with an extension up to Thirunallar. “The new line needs to be built for 11 km from Tharangampadi to Thirunallaur. Thirunallar and Karaikal is connected by the Peralam-Karaikal stretch,” said Arupathi P. Kalyanam, the committee organiser.
The project would provide a big push to tourism and economic growth of the Cauvery delta region as it would connect major Hindu, Islamic, and Christian pilgrimage centres. If implemented, it would provide a circular rail link to the delta region, it said.
Although the Railways had done a reonnnaisannce-cum-traffic survey to explore the feasibility of extending the line till Thirunallar in 2006-07 and in 2010, the project is still pending with the Railway Board, he said.
Speaking at the event organised by the committee and other welfare association of Mayiladuthurai district on Tuesday, Mr. Kalyanam said Centre should take it up as a special project and allocate funds in its Budget for 2026-27.
Stressing the spiritual tourism of the railway line, he called upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi to connect the Red Fort in New Delhi with the Danish Fort in Tharangambadi. He also pressed for introduction of trains from Ayodhya and Varanasi to Rameswaram via Thirukadaiyur and Thirunallar.
Published – November 25, 2025 06:37 pm IST
