A food plaza with restaurant, sweet shop and juice shop, was inaugurated at the Coimbatore Railway Station on Wednesday.
E. Harikrishnan, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager, Salem Division, inaugurated the 138 sq. m. facility. Railway officials said that the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) had called for bids for occupation of space earmarked by the Salem Division of the Southern Railway for caterers.
“This is the first time that non-vegetarian dining is introduced in this station,” an official said, adding that separate dining areas for vegetarian and non-vegetarian customers is available. The ambience of the food plaza is modelled after food courts in airports, officials said. At present, the plaza has five stalls: restaurant, sweet stall, coffee shop, stall for prepared food items such as biscuits and a juice stall. It is located at the concourse area on left side to the entrance.
An IRCTC official noted that demands for a food plaza in Coimbatore Railway Station has been pending for a while and has now been inaugurated to serve the needs of passengers at the station. “If passengers want to pick some snacks or have a meal on the way to the train, they may do so now,” the official said. Echoing similar sentiments, railway officials said that the food plaza was constructed and inaugurated within three months heeding to the long-standing demands of the passengers. Coimbatore Railway Station became the third railway station in the Salem Division to have a food plaza. Works to construct a plaza in Tiruppur Railway Station are under way.
Station Director P. Sathesh Saravanan, IRCTC General Manager (South Zone) S.S. Jagannathan and other railway officials were present at the inaugural event.
