Tamil Nadu - Tiruchi   

AC railway waiting hall, big hit

PHOTO: R. M. RAJARATHINAM

COOL COMFORT: A view of the AC waiting hall on platform number one of Tiruchi railway junction. —

TIRUCHI: Tiruchi Railway Junction has been beautified and expanded to accommodate the growing number of rail travellers.

Of the various new facilities created at the junction in the recent past, the ‘pay and use’ air-conditioned waiting hall located on platform 1 for the benefit of passengers of all classes has proved a big hit with the travelling public.

This facility has been created for the first time in any railway station falling within Southern Railway limits, say railway officials here.

Till now, only upper class passengers enjoyed the air-conditioned waiting hall facility in major railway stations.

Passengers travelling in other classes had to be satisfied with the common non air-conditioned waiting hall at stations.

In keeping with the declaration of 2007 and 2008 as ‘passenger amenity years’, the Tiruchi Railway Division established the ‘pay and use’ air-conditioned waiting hall at Tiruchi Junction at a cost of Rs. 11 lakh for the benefit of passengers travelling by any class charging a nominal amount for it usage.

The railways have placed upholstered furniture worth about a few lakh in this spacious well-furnished hall. There are tidy bathrooms and toilets for men and women. Special arrangements have been made inside the AC waiting hall to disseminate information through the plasma television about the arrival and departure of trains along with the platform numbers.

Officials say the railways was charging a nominal amount of Rs. 10 for the first two hours for using the facility from the passengers who have to produce their ticket. For every additional hour, Rs. 10 is collected for a maximum of twelve hours.

“This is a good facility at a low charge. This facility should be introduced in other major stations such as Thanjavur, Kumbakonam, Tiruvarur and Mayiladuturai too in the division,” observed Mrs. Shanthi, a housewife and a frequent traveller.

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