Highly-placed sources at the Southern Railways have confirmed that the 240-years-old Coimbatore Junction railway station is all set to witness some dramatic improvements before the end of this year.

The Coimbatore Junction railway station is currently Tamil Nadu’s second highest revenue earning railway station, after Chennai Central. Rs.185 crores is the revenue earned by Coimbatore Junction in 2015-16. About 75 pairs of trains touch the Coimbatore Junction and 27,000 passengers pass through the railway station on a daily basis.

The station was under the Palakkad division. It was only in the year 2007 that it was brought under the Salem Division. This, says an officer from the Coimbatore Junction who does not wish to be named, has helped Coimbatore Junction in getting funds for various development activities.

On any given day and at any given time, Coimbatore Junction never runs out of water thanks to Siruvani. Each of the six platforms has drinking water taps fitted at regular gaps, and we are told that the taps receive supply from the overhead water tanks. But, none of the taps has a tumbler. Plus, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) also sells packed drinking water, available at all the stalls on all the platforms.

Currently, the Coimbatore Junction has six platforms. Of these, only two are disabled-friendly. Wheelchair facilities, battery-operated cars, and ramps are available for the disabled only on platform 1 and 2. A senior official, who wished to remain anonymous, said that by the year end the year, Coimbatore Junction will be equipped with three escalators, with each escalator serving two platforms. Currently, there is only one escalator that functions from 5 am to 11 pm. The facility is open to public, and a lot of senior citizens take advantage of the same.

The rest rooms at the Coimbatore Junction certainly need improvement. There is a toilet for the disabled passengers too. However, pay-and-use toilets for other (general) passengers charge Rs.5, contrary to the Rs.2 prescribed on the board outside the rest rooms. The caretaker rudely tells complaining passengers to not use the restrooms if they don’t want to pay what is demanded. When this issue was raised with the railway authorities, the senior official said, “We had given the restroom maintenance to private contractors. If the contractors are caught violating the rules, they are warned. Four such warnings lead to termination of their contract.” But, no license has been cancelled till date, despite the blatant violation.

The Coimbatore Junction has taken the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan seriously. We are told that the station is regularly frequented by college students who volunteer to clean up the premises. The staff was sported wearing gloves, and the railway tracks were clean when we visited this station. One of the signage at this station warns that persons caught spitting will be fined. With 85 Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras covering the premises, the public sure thinks twice before painting the walls with paan-stained saliva.