Work for the installation of two skywalk escalators began at the Coimbatore Railway Junction here on Saturday to enable passengers to reach platform 1 A from the junction entrance itself. The skywalk escalators both costing ₹1.75 lakh will be 4.84 m in vertical height and could carry as many as 9,000 passengers per hour.
The escalator comes as a third entrance and exit for Coimbatore Junction and is expected to decongest Coimbatore Junction as the present entry and exit points from Goods Shed Road and State Bank Road is increasingly getting congested. Passengers will have to use a narrow subway and stair case to reach the platforms.
The two escalators connecting the entrance with platform 1 A will reduce the pressure on the subways and staircase and passenger concourse area. From platform 1 A, passengers could use the existing escalators to reach the other platforms, sources said. With the installation and electrical and safety related works requiring some time, railway officials plan to have the same commissioned by March 2017.
