Travelling public and trading community in Perundurai, Chennimalai and Vellode hope that the Southern Railway will accord adequate attention to the neglected Perundurai station
A dilapidated building passes off for a station in the commercially bustling town that is visibly growing on an even keel with Erode, the district headquarters, according to the trading community at Vellode.
At present, there are only a few eight stoppages of passenger trains: Erode-Coimbatore, Erode-Palghat, Coimbatore-Nagercoil, Coimbatore-Salem, Salem-Coimbatore, Tiruchi-Palghat, Palghat-Erode, and Coimbatore-Erode trains. Barring the Coimbatore-Nagercoil passenger train that stops for two minutes, all the other trains have stoppage for just one minute.
But, the usage is minimal due to the poor condition of the station. Though the station is located five to six km. away from Perundurai, it is ideally located for easy access from Chennimalai and Vellode.
Revamp of the building is long overdue, Ravichandran, a trader based in Chennimalai, said.
Earlier this year, the Southern Railway commissioned the renovated buildings for Vijayamangalam Railway Station, and also promised a subway as a replacement for a level-crossing located at a close location. The building was renovated at a cost of Rs. 75 lakh. At the time of commissioning, the Railway officials also visited Perundurai to explore scope for construction of an over bridge since the existing subway was too narrow to cater to the volume of vehicular traffic.
The trade and industry sectors in the district believe that development of Perundurai station has a bearing on fructification of the proposals for shifting of Goods Shed out of the city limits and laying of an exclusive line from Perundurai or Ingur stations to the SIPCOT Industrial Growth Centre.
