Singareni Train completes 50 years of service

The Singareni Train, launched in 1976, has completed 50 years of service connecting Telangana’s coal belt. A lifeline for SCCL employees and families, the train has evolved from express service to electric MEMU operations, with commuters now seeking an extension to Manuguru.

Kothagudem: From slow chugging steam locomotives to high-speed diesel engines and electric locomotives, Singareni Train, which originates in Kothagudem, has come a long way as it completes 50 years of service.

The train has remained a lifeline and has an inseparable bond among the residents in coal belt areas in Telangana, as every family holds memories like travelling for one’s first day of work and families journeying to their hometowns for festivals or an anxious trip to the hospital, linked to this train.

---

The Singareni train service was launched on September 2, 1976, running from Kothagudem (Bhadrachalam Road) to Bellampalli, and has been a constant companion to countless lives for five decades. It was later extended to Sirpur Kagaznagar town.

The train was initially run as an express service, later operated as a ‘Fast Passenger Train ‘, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was converted into a Mainline Electric Multiple Units (MEMU) Express, running entirely on electric traction. It connects Asifabad, Mancherial, Peddapalli, Karimnagar, Hanamkonda, Warangal, Mahabubabad and Kothagudem districts, besides Balharshah, a coal town in Maharashtra

Thousands of passengers from SCCL areas rely on this train every day. As the SCCL headquarters and main hospital are located in Kothagudem, this train holds special significance for the travel needs of employees, workers and their families.

Over the span of five decades, the SCCL has witnessed numerous changes, with new mines being set up and generations of workers succeeding one another. Yet, the journey of the Singareni train has never ceased, said a former SCCL employee, KM Francis, sharing his experience with ‘Telangana Today’.

The commuters are now asking the South Central Railways (SCR) authorities to extend the train service to Manuguru for the convenience of Singareni employees, with regular coaches that offer more space instead of a MEMU train.

Meanwhile, the SCR officials seem to be clueless about the Singareni train’s golden jubilee, as enquiries with railway station masters in Kothagudem and Warangal about whether any event is planned to mark the occasion revealed that they are not aware of it.