Development of Coimbatore Junction on cards, says Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways after inspection

Request put forth to develop the Coimbatore North Railway Junction to ease off the traffic at Coimbatore Junction

Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways Radha Mohan Singh, along with panel members, visited the Coimbatore Junction Railway Station on Friday, for an inspection.

Mr. Singh who was accompanied by 16 Members of Parliament (MPs) from various states reviewed the 'One Station One Product' saree stall at Coimbatore Junction and held discussions with elected representatives and committee members. The scheme was launched by the Railways, as announced in the Union Budget 2022-23 by the Centre for traders to display and sell locally-made goods at the stations.

Southern Railway General Manager Gopinath Mallya told The Hindu that talks on redevelopment of Coimbatore station were held.

On the restoration of services — Madurai to Coimbatore Intercity Express via Palani, overnight express train service from Rameswaram to Coimbatore via Madurai and Palani — he said the operations would be brought back to pre-Covid levels at the earliest. The panel inspected the signal and telecommunications training (S&T) centre and commissioned a CCTV system at Podanur on Thursday.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Women’s wing National President and Coimbatore South MLA Vanathi Srinivasan, who met the committee members, said, "A request was made to initiate services to southern regions of the State, like Tiruchendur and Rameswaram, from Coimbatore. We also requested to develop the Coimbatore North Railway Junction to ease off the traffic here (Coimbatore Junction)."

"Further, talks were held to develop Coimbatore station at par with international standards as the State is planning to conduct a land survey and prepare Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the same," she mentioned.