RailEnquiry

Southern Railway on Tuesday started a feasibility study to extend platforms of Tirusulam railway station so that express and mail trains can halt there. The suburban railway station has a platform on the main line which now remains unused.

    The move comes after minister of state for railways K H Muniyappa instructed Southern Railway officials to upgrade the station to make it usable for long distance travellers. It will be easy to upgrade the railway station because it has a platform on the mainline and a subway connecting the platform to the airport campus.

    Divisional railway manager S Anantharaman said the existing platform, which is 280 metres long, should be extended to 575 metres. “The study is to find out whether we can have tracks for such a long platform to accommodate the trains,” he said.

    As soon as the study is completed, railways will start works to extend the platform. Long distance trains from southern towns like Nagercoil, Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Tuticorin and Madurai will halt here once the platform is extended. Railways have received representations from passengers to allot stops at Tirusulam railway station.

    Railways also plan to install toilets and drinking water facilities at the station. The move by the railways will come as a fillip to airports authorities’ initiative to offer access to multimodal transportation for air passengers.

    A metro rail station is going to be built on the airport campus, and passengers arriving by metro will be able to walk through a tube to reach the airport terminal.

LENGTHY AGENDA: The existing platform which is 280 metres long may be extended to 575 metres