Tiruchanur station to propel growth

Raillway Minister to lay foundation for the crossing station

The nondescript Tiruchanur railway station is all set for a major overhaul, with Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu laying the foundation stone for the station complex in Tirupati on Saturday. —Photo: K.V. POORNACHANDRA KUMAR

The Tiruchanur railway station, lying unnoticed between Tirupati and Renigunta Junction for over a decade, is set to become a growth engine for the development of eastern Tirupati, after the Ministry of Railways has decided to elevate its status from ‘C’ class to a much improvised ‘B’ class station.

Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhu will lay the foundation stone for the new crossing station, in the presence of State Ministers P. Narayana (Municipal Administration) and B. Gopalakrishna Reddy (Environment and Forest) on Saturday.

It may be recalled that the development of railway infrastructure remained a far cry, with the local hospitality industry overtly lobbying with the then UPA Government to prevent establishment of railway facilities out of the existing station premises, though it was fully saturated and was in no position to absorb any further crowd.

The world class railway station project sanctioned to Tirupati also remained a non-starter, with pressure groups preventing it from being moved out, even to the adjoining Tirupati West station. Tiruchanur is the major railway infrastructure facility to Tirupati after the change of guard at the Centre.

Tiruchanur station will initially have two platforms, two foot over-bridges, a station building and circulatory area. In future, it will be developed into a terminal point for some trains towards Hyderabad and Vijayawada. It is also proposed to halt the Chennai and Nellore-bound EMU trains at this station so as to decongest Tirupati. The station is the nearest point to Tiruchanur Sri Padmavathi Ammavari Temple, while operation of Tirumala services by the APSRTC via Mangalam will decongest the city roads to a great extent.

The main aim of South Central Railways is to decongest the Tirupati yard by developing a station with loop lines on Up and Down side. The new crossing station will not only strengthen the rail infrastructure of Tirupati area, but also indirectly facilitate commercial, business and residential activities in the Cotton Mill, Settipalle, Autonagar, Daminedu, Thukivakam and Mangalam areas located in the city’s eastern suburbs.

The station will act as a bridge connecting the 10 km distance between Tirupati and Renigunta stations, which in the long run, is expected to help merge Renigunta into the city.