Coimbatore: While welcoming railways minister Piyush Goyal’s announcement to develop the Coimbatore North station, rail users want Podanur and Peelamedu stations also to be developed. They say only a multi-pronged approach can decongest the Coimbatore Junction, which gets crowded during peak hours.
Railway users say the government should consider trifurcating the Coimbatore Junction by developing Coimbatore North and Peelamedu stations. “If all the seven to eight trains that terminate at Coimbatore Junction stop at Coimbatore North and Peelamedu, many people would detrain at these stations and need not travel till the junction,” said RAAC Raveendran, who took the issue to Union minister of state for finance Pon Radhakrishnan on Wednesday.
“While Nilgiris Express and Cheran Express stop at Coimbatore North, they can stop at Peelamedu too,” he said. “This move could help commuters from Peelamedu to Neelambur to board the trains at Peelamedu.”
Southern railways could also depart a few trains from Coimbatore North and Podanur stations. “Trains heading to Kerala can depart from Coimbatore North station and stop at the junction for three to five minutes,” said C M Jayaraman of Citizen’s Voice Club.
“Similarly, trains to Bengaluru, Chennai and Trichy can depart from Podanur and stop for a reasonable amount of time at the junction. This will enable Podanur to get good traffic. Residents of Vellalore, Nanjundapuram, Chettipalayam and Kurichi will also have access to many trains and avoid travelling to the Coimbatore Junction,” he said.
Activists say the Coimbatore Junction is running out of space and adding more trains is going to further burden the terminus. “Facilities like water washing and maintenance are available in Podanur and Coimbatore North stations. They just need to be renovated,” said another user M Ravi.
“They can create more space at Coimbatore North station by removing some godowns and sheds,” said Raveendran. “If Coimbatore North is renovated, residents from Ramnagar, Saibaba Colony, R S Puram, Thudiyalur and Kavundampalayam can take trains from there,” said Jayaraman