Southern Railways scraps proposal for new halt station near TIDEL Park in Coimbatore

CHENNAI: Despite a huge public demand, the Southern Railways has declined the proposal to build a new railway station near TIDEL Park in Coimbatore.

According to a report in The Hindu, the railways stated that the proposed site, near Vilankurichi Road, is only 3.43 km from Peelamedu station and just two kms away from the Singanallur station.

Southern Railways pointed out that operational guidelines require a minimum distance of five kilometers between stations in non-suburban areas which makes the new halt not currently feasible.

The petition which was filed by RTI activist V Balasubramanian argued that a new halt station would offer significant convenience and provide easy access to Gandhipuram and Singanallur bus stands, Coimbatore International Airport and several key areas of the city. The petitioner had also pointed to the recent approval of Rs 20 crores for the Kilambakkam halt station in Chennai as a precedent and argued that exceptions to the five-kilometer rule exist.

In response to the petition, the Railways noted that additional stops for three trains have already been scheduled at the existing Singanallur Station which came into effect from August 18 of this year.