Irugur railway line doubling will be completed by December 2007
Food plaza opened at Coimbatore JunctionCoimbatore: Funds will not be a constraint for the Irugur railway line doubling and it will be completed by December 2007, Union Minister of State for Railways R. Velu.The Ondipudur and Ukkadam rail overbridges would be thrown open by April 14 and July respectively.
Mr. Velu was here to inaugurate `Swapnam', a multi-cuisine food plaza, at the Coimbatore Junction under the aegis of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation. Mayor R. Venkatachalam, Divisional Railway Manager (Palakkad Division) A.K. Harit and District Collector Neeraj Mittal accompanied Mr. Velu.
Asked about the inadequate allocation and inordinate delay in completion of the Irugur line doubling work, Mr. Velu said budgetary allocation or funds would never be a constraint in easing the single line bottleneck and said "Railways could cut corners in other schemes and ensure completion of this project".
On the long-pending rail overbridges on Tiruchi Road at Ondipudur and at Ukkadam on the Sungam bypass road, Mr.Velu said the Ondipudur rail overbridge would be thrown open for traffic by April 14. The railway portion of the work at Ukkadam would be completed by May while the highways department would complete its remaining portion of the work by June.
Denying reports of the Coimbatore region being neglected in the railway infrastructure, Mr. Velu said Rs. 8.40 crore was spent for various passenger amenities and work for basic infrastructure worth Rs. 58.78 lakh had been completed and works worth Rs. 187.19 lakh were in progress. Besides, projects worth Rs. 594.25 lakh had been accorded sanction. The major works included construction of a second sub-way besides waiting halls in the western entrance of the oimbatore Junction.
Shuttle services
On a query for operating shuttle electric train services to Pollachi and Mettupalayam and increasing the frequency of services to Tirupur and Erode to ease the pressure on road traffic, the Minister said every train and track required periodical maintenance in a block of four hours or in two blocks of two-and-a-half hours each. Running trains beyond capacity would be at the cost of safety, he said.
On the plea for a convenient train connectivity to Tirupur and Erode, the Minister said the passenger train timings would be revised. For the convenience of rail users and to decongest the Coimbatore Junction, the Intercity Express and the West Coast Express would be given a stoppage at North Coimbatore Junction.
Gauge conversion
On the allocation of Rs. 30 crore for the gauge conversion work between Coimbatore and Dindigul via Pollachi, which would cost Rs. 330 crore, the Minister said for preliminary works this allocation would be enough. The demand for overnight train services from Coimbatore to Bangalore and Tiruvananthapuram would be considered, he said.
