After more than 140 years of existence, the Periyanaickenpalayam Railway Station is all set to get a facelift.

The laying of the foundation for the renovation work of the station by Divisional Railway Manager of the Salem Division Shubhrashu on Saturday did bring a sigh of relief for the passengers who travel between Periyanaickenpalayam and Coimbatore city.

According to S. Ramajothi, Secretary of the Periyanaickenpalayam Rail Passengers’ Association the station, which is one of the oldest stations in the State was constructed in 1873 and largely used by the Britishers who wanted to visit the Nilgiris frequently.

“This station had the opportunity of hosting Mahatma Gandhi when he visited Coimbatore to lay the foundation of the Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya on February 7 in 1934,” he said.

However, despite boasting of such a legacy, the Periyanaickenpalayam station was not used frequently by people back then and almost shut by the railways during the early 1980’s.

“It resumed only after 1986 after people in the area kept pressing the government as they had to think of an alternative to travel between Mettupalayam and Coimbatore,” Ramajothi reminisced.

Much to the delight of the commuters, after its rejuvenation in 1986, the frequency of trains was shifted to four times a day to and fro from Coimbatore and Mettupalayam during the 2010 World Tamil Conference.

“The number of passengers gradually increased in the last seven years and now nearly two lakh commuters are using the route with at least more than 1,000 people travelling from Periyanaickenpalayam,” R. Ravi, one of the commuters, said.

The construction of a new building; a park; extension of track and the assurance of more frequent trains from the Southern Railways have brought a wide smile to the face of commuters.

However, they still long for new trains to connect Mettupalayam with Pollachi, Palakkad, Tirupur, Erode and Salem with Coimbatore being in the centre.

“The railways had already assured that an Amirthanandha Express will operate from Palakkad to Mettupalayam and another train between Mettupalayam and Mettur. If these trains are introduced soon, it would help this industrial corridor,” said Krishnakumar, another commuter.