Public seeks revival of British era Yellandu railway station in Kothagudem
Yellandu railway station, once a key link for coal transport, has remained closed to passenger services since 2006. Locals are now campaigning for its revival, arguing that passenger trains would improve connectivity, support economic growth and restore the town’s historic rail link
Yellandu (Kothagudem): Once used by British, European and Indian coal miners engaged in coal extraction during the British Raj, Yellandu railway station is now begging for attention and revival.
After being in service during the British Raj and in independent India for nearly 118 years, the railway station, named Singareni Collieries with station code SYI, was closed in 2006 by South Central Railway for passenger services owing to low revenue and financial losses.
What now remains is the dilapidated structure, with its iron roof torn apart, taken over by wild growth, and the surroundings covered by wild bushes that have buried the glorious past of one of the oldest railway stations in Telangana.
According to historical accounts, the railway line to Yellandu was completed and opened for traffic in February 1898 as an extension of the Hyderabad-Godavari Valley Railway line under the Nizam’s Guaranteed State Railways System, enabling the transport of coal from the Singareni coalfields.
Twenty years after the closure of the railway station, locals have launched a campaign for Yellandu railway station’s restoration, for both sentimental and practical reasons. The residents of the town argue that running a passenger train to Yellandu could help its economic growth.
Speaking to Telangana Today, Telangana activist Kancharla Srinivas Rao stated that Yellandu, the birthplace of coal mining and a town with over 150 years of history, needs a passenger train to meet the needs of the locals as well as for the development of the town.
At present, if people want to board a train, they have to travel to Karepally, Mahabubabad, Gandhipuram, Kothagudem or Khammam. During the British regime and later, the public used to commute from Yellandu to Dornakal Junction via Karepally in passenger trains.
Now, the railway line is used only for coal transportation. The existing line could be used, or a 7 to 8 km railway line from Gandhipuram to Yellandu, which was proposed in 2012, could be laid for operating passenger trains, Srinivas Rao said. He staged a four-day deeksha recently in support of the demand.
Senior BRS leader Dindigala Rajender, giving the background of Yellandu railway station, noted that the general public was allowed to travel in passenger trains after a railway station was built in 1928.
The SCCL and SCR, which have earned huge revenues from coal mining at Yellandu, should consider the public demand; everything should not be seen from a profit perspective. People feel that it is unjust not to have a single passenger train running on the tracks used to transport coal.
Increasing mining activity with the Poosapalli opencast mine project and running a passenger train to Yellandu are essential for the growth of the town, which has been fading into oblivion, much like the railway station, due to lack of development, he added.
