Citing Coimbatore Junction’s third ranking in Southern Railway’s highest revenue generating stations for 2023-24, with earnings of ₹325 crore, rail enthusiasts in the region have reiterated the demand for creation of a separate division for Coimbatore.
The earnings of Coimbatore Junction were next only to Chennai Central (₹1216 crore) and Chennai Egmore (₹564 crore).
Notably, Coimbatore Junction has generated more revenue than other divisions in the Southern Zone encompassing Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
As per the creiteria laid down by the Railway Reforms Committee, new zones / divisions are set up keeping in view the workload, accessibility, geographic sprawls and other administrative / operational requirements consistent with the needs of the economy and efficiency, and not on ethnic, linguistic and territorial considerations.
There is a strong case for forming a divisional headquarters in Coimbatore since there are three Railway Divisions inside Coimbatore district which complicates the development process, J . Sathish , Director, Kongu Global Forum, pointed out.
At present, the Southern Railway has six divisions: Chennai, Palakkad, Madurai, Salem, Thiruvananthapuram and Tiruchi.
In the main line from Coimbatore to Dindigul, only the 15-km stretch from Podanur to Kinathukkadavu is in the Salem division.
The 21-km track from Kinathukkadavu to Pollachi is in Palakkad division, and the rail line beyond Pollachi is in Madurai Division.
“This should be reconstituted to Salem division immediately as recently done in the other parts of the country,” Mr. Sathish emphasised.
Last month, the Ministry of Railways included the Daund-Manmad section under the Pune Division. Effective from April 1, the 224 km stretch covering 24 stations, including Daund, Manmad, Ahmednagar and Shirdi, was shifted to Pune Division from Solapur Division.
Train maintenance facilities that are vital for start of new train services are insufficient in Coimbatore inspite of contributing the third highest revenue year after year. Many proposals to build additional train maintenance facilities in Coimbatore are pending with the Southern Railways, Mr. Sathish said.
Overnight train services to Bengaluru, Thoothukudi, Rameswaram, Sengottai and Madurai are yet to be restored. The demand for increasing frequency of direct trains from Coimbatore to Delhi, Jabalpur, Dhanbad and Tirunelveli should be considered. Introduction of new train services to Patna, Kolkata, Bilaspur and Chennai Egmore must also be implemented, he said.
Rail enthusiasts, trade bodies, industry associations and Railway Users’ Consultative Committees are confident that if these issues are addressed in a fair and transparent manner, Coimbatore will generate a revenue of ₹ 600 crores annually, thereby mutually benefiting both passengers and Railways.
