Image credit : Illustrative Image

Coimbatore : Railway Minister Piyush Goyal announcement of developing Coimbatore North station and also Pothanur(South station) is being welcomed by rail commuters who have been demanding trifurcation of the junction.

They say Coimbatore Junction is running out of space and adding more trains would add to the chaos. “Coimbatore platforms are congested during peak hours and there are very slim chances to extend them. Hence some measures should be taken to control and maintain the crowd,” said A Mishra, a frequent commuter.

“If all the seven to eight trains that terminate at Coimbatore North and Peelamedu, many people would detrain at there and would not have to travel to the Junction,” said RAAC Raveendran, who took the issue with Union Minister of State for Finance Pon Radhakrishnan

“Trifurcating of the junction will be beneficial. Trains going towards Madurai and Kerala can depart from North Coimbatore, making a halt at the central junction for 3-4 minutes. Similarly, trains headed towards Mumbai and Delhi can start from Podanur, making a halt at central junction for a reasonable time,” said CM Jayaraman of Citizen’s Voice Club.

“Trifurcation of the junction is good. It’ll help create employment as well. Right now, the focus is only on Central Junction. Hence, area around it is getting developed. Hotels, taxi stands and hawkers flock there. However, these stations have to be maintained and renovated as well. Facilities should be enhanced. Parking is a big issue because of which the premises is getting clogged. The stations should be renovated keeping the elderly in mind,” says businessman R Soundarajan.

R Prakash, a resident of Ramnagar, says, “If the FCI godown is shifted to Irgur, functioning will be smooth. Residents of Vellalore, Nanjundapuram, Chettipalayam and Kurichi will also have an easy access because of Podanur station. They can avoid travelling to Coimbatore Junction. Residents from Sai Baba Colony, RS Puram, Kavundampalayam and Ramnagar will be benefitted. They can directly board trains from North station instead of travelling, beating the traffic and coming all the way to the Junction.”