Almost all the ongoing works relating to facelift to Coimbatore Junction and creation of passenger amenities will be completed one after the other from September and a station with a complete facelift will be a New Year gift for rail users, said Sujatha Jayaraj, Divisional Railway Manager – Salem on Friday.
Talking to The Hindu , Ms. Sujatha Jayaraj said that the work for creation of second sub-way into the railway behind the Superintendent of Police office and Thomas Park area is nearing completion.
The work for construction of a push-box type concrete structure is in the final stage. The sub-way will be connected with all the six platforms through an escalator.
Foot Over Bridge will be extended to platform 1 A and 5 and 6 and there will be a lift for the benefit of passengers, she said.
Improvements to the platform surface on 5 and 6 have already begun. Issue over the quality of sheets for the roof for the entire length of the platform has been resolved and roof works will also be completed within the next two to three months.
Similarly, elevation for the Western entrance and improvements to circulating area in the Western Side entrance of the Junction are also being speeded up.
Ms. Sujatha Jayaraj said that very soon there would be battery-operated cars for the benefit of passengers, especially senior citizens and ailing persons.
The division was waiting for the sub-way works and platform works to be completed to put these battery-operated cars to use. These cars would be introduced at Coimbatore, Erode and Salem Junctions.
Rail connectivity
D. Lakshmanan, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager added that for improving rail connectivity, the Division has already strongly recommended introducing overnight trains to Bangalore, Rameswaram and Mayiladuthurai from Coimbatore besides pressing for the extension of the Jodhpur – Bangalore Express upto Coimbatore as announced twice in the railway budget.
The Salem – Karur new railway line would be thrown open for cargo traffic first and after the inspection of the section by Commissioner of Rail Safety, the line would be dedicated to the nation for rail traffic well ahead of the New Year.
When asked about enhancing terminal facilities such as yard and pit-line for coach maintenance taking into account the future growth of the region, Ms.Sujatha Jayaraj said that considering that Coimbatore Junction lacks the required land, the administration was already exploring the possibilities of setting up such facilities wherever land was available, be it Coimbatore North or Podanur.
Talking to reporters after inspecting the Mettuppalayam Junction, Ms. Sujatha Jayaraj said that the railways was seriously considering steps to concede the demand for operating the Coimbatore – Mettuppalayam passenger train on Sundays also.
Additional coach
This train would be augmented with an additional coach to cater to the increasing passenger patronage.
Coimbatore Railway Struggle Committee has also presented a memorandum asking the railways to permit them to construct a building for one of the en-route defunct stations on the Coimbatore – Mettuppalayam station.
The committee had urged revival of Urumandampalayam, Veerapandi and Pudupalayam as the train was halting only at Periyanaickenpalayam and Karamadai stations.
The DRM also said that works relating to electrification of this section are also being stepped following an announcement in the budget. Electrification of the section would help in operating Mainline Electrical Multiple Units (MEMU).
