Considering the need to cater to the demands of an ever-increasing population and reach out to those living in the peripherals of the town, commuters have called upon the Southern Railway to establish a new railway station between Thanjavur Junction and Alakkudi station on the Tiruchi side.
“Thanjavur was declared a municipality in 1866 and upgraded as a corporation in 2014 covering an area of 36 square kilometre. It has more than three lakh people. Residential areas, commercial establishments and educational institutions have sprung up on the western parts of Thanjavur town in the recent decades.
They include Tamil University, SASTRA University, new Collectorate complex, RTO Office, SP Office besides the existing facilities that include the massive Thanjavur Medical College Hospital that are frequented by thousands of people every day. All of them have to travel at least seven km to reach Thanjavur Junction. If a new railway station is established between Thanjavur and Alakkudi at Reddipalayam or Manojipatti, it will be a huge advantage for the people,” says K. Padmanabhan, former president of the District Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The present Thanjavur Junction is already cramped though it has five platforms and two entrances one each on the southern and northern side. The junction caters to more than 60 services including goods train movement every day besides witnessing a footfall of around 10,000 daily. To top it all, the Junction garners revenue of ₹15 crore a year through sale of tickets and freight bookings. “Vriddhachalam has two stations, Tiruchi three and Coimbatore has four stations within the city limits. Here we need one more station between Thanjavur and Alakkudi”, argues T. Saravanan, secretary, Papanasam Train Passengers Association.
In future, there is a possibility of the Railways introducing Mainline Electrical Multiple Unit service after the completion of the ongoing track doubling and electrification works between Tiruchi and Thanjavur Junctions. The plan is to complete electrification work itself by March next. In this situation a new station nearer to Thanjavur will be a boon to the commuters, points out A. Giri, advisor, Thanjavur District Rail Users Association.
