CHENNAI: The first railway station built in South India is likely to don a fresh new role in the near future!Minister for Railways Dinesh Trivedi on Wednesday proposed the undertaking of a pre-feasibility study for the development of Roypuram railway station, which would pave the way for creating a new railway terminal in North Chennai. “We have received many representations in this regard,” the Minister informed the house while presenting the railway budget for the year 2012-13.Spread across an area of 72 acres near the Harbour, Royapuram would house the fourth terminal in Chennai, followed by Central, Egmore and Tambaram, which is under construction.Interestingly, the announcement in the Lok Sabha came as a bolt from the blue for the members of Tamil Nadu Rail Passengers’ Right Tribune, who had led several agitations pressing for this demand. “We have been fighting for a railway terminal since 2006,” said ATB Bose, Co-convener of the Tribune. “We conceived the idea for a railway terminal at Royapuram during the 150-year celebrations of the oldest railway station in South India. The announcement made by the Minister was actually a surprise for us,” he added jubilantly.Following representation from various quarters including Members of Parliament from Tamil Nadu, a high-level committee comprising Executive Director (Coaching) of the Railway Board, Mukesh Nigam inspected the station to explore the possibilities of converting it into a full-fledged terminal. The panel also held discussions with local representatives on January 21.The surprise announcement made in Parliament now gives an impression that the railways is actively considering a new terminal at Royapuram railway station.
Comments
0 comment