a day ago
Make Koodal Nagar station a full-fledged railway junction: Agri & All Trade Chamber
The railways should make Koodal Nagar station a full-fledged railway junction, said Agri and All Trade Chamber president S. Rethinavelu here on Friday.
Submitting a memorandum to the Divisional Railway Manager Om Prakash Meena, who assumed office recently, the chamber president said that by developing Koodal Nagar as a full-fledged junction, it would help people located in the northern side of Madurai city to use it and help decongest the existing railway junction.
The Koodal Nagar railway station was primarily established to decongest Madurai junction, especially to shift the goods shed as the number of trains and passenger volume had increased manifold. However, the facility did not get the expected support over the years for various reasons.
The railway station could be put to effective use as Koodal Nagar was well connected to the railway lines towards Dindigul, Chennai and further north.
The station is strategically positioned to ease congestion at Madurai Junction and provides convenient access for residents in the northern parts of the city, provided the access and transport connectivity is well developed making it convenient for travellers needing to reach the City centre and the station infrastructure, including waiting room, signage, digital boards and other basic amenities, is upgraded.
The railways can increase the number of express trains halting there, particularly for boarding and deboarding only. This will also considerably reduce the road traffic between north and south of Madurai city through the road bridges over the Vaigai river, to reach Madurai Junction.
Considering the development of Tuticorin Port slated to become a Container Port with the arrival of Mother Vessel, the 'Dry Port' goods booking at Koodal Nagar, which was inaugurated long back, should be revived in full swing by putting up all the infrastructure needed. This will boost not only export from this region but also movement of goods Pan India to and fro Madurai, which is a Commercial and Industrial Centre.
The chamber suggested upgradation of railway stations for industrial use. By converting underutilised stations into freight-handling hubs with modern loading/ unloading facilities, revenue generation would be assured. Provision of sidings for MSMEs engaged in bulk goods transport (e.g. agricultural produce, fireworks, textiles, salt, and seafood exports) helps both the railways and the users.
Introduction of dedicated freight corridors or time slots for goods trains would minimise delay.
Lastly, establishment of satellite goods terminals in industrial clusters such as Madurai–Koodal Nagar, Virudhunagar, Sivakasi, Thoothukudi, and Ramanathapuram would ensure overall growth and also give an impetus to the small and micro entrepreneurs in southern districts, Mr. Rethinavelu said.
Chamber secretary K. Thirupathi Rajan and treasurer C. Ravikumar were present at the meeting with the DRM.
