Coimbatore Suburban Railway

Coimbatore Broad Gauge Metro Railway Cum Coimbatore Suburban Railway or Kovai Metro Cum Suburban Railway is a Broad Gauge Metro Cum Suburban railway planned for Coimbatore city.^[5] The circular railway line will help run through Coimbatore Junction, Podanur, Vellalore, Irugur, Singanallur, Pilamedu and Coimbatore North. This will certainly help decongest the city roads since this circular line passes through the main parts of Coimbatore city and ends within the coimbatore city limits, so this circular line is an urban line. Restoration of old Main Line (Which was Broad Gauge Vellore Station) Nanjundapuram Railway link line lengths 1 km will help plan circular urban electric train track. A senior official ^[5] with the Salem division says, "if the revival of an old line can bring about so many benefits, it can be considered".^[6] However, Implementation of this project gets delayed due to the Proposed Coimbatore Metro.

Coimbatore Broad Gauge Metro & Suburban Railway[1][2]
Overview
Other name(s)	Kovai suburban rail
Native name	கோயம்புத்தூர் புறநகர் மின்சாரத் தொடர்வண்டி சேவை
Status	Planned
Owner	Indian Railways
Locale	Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
Termini	Coimbatore Junction
Connecting lines	Mettupalayam line, Pollachi line, Palakkad line, Tiruppur line, Kovai circular line[3]
Service
Type	suburban rail
Services	5 routes
Operator(s)	Southern Railway
Depot(s)	Coimbatore
Technical
Number of tracks	Single, Double
Track gauge	5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge
Old gauge	Metre gauge
Electrification	25 kV, 50 Hz AC through overhead catenary
Operating speed	110 Kmph [4]
Signalling	Railway Signalling
Route map

Routes

These are the 5 routes.

1. Coimbatore Jn – Mettupalayam
2. Coimbatore Jn. – Pollachi Jn.
3. Coimbatore Jn – Tiruppur
4. Coimbatore Jn – Palakkad Jn
5. Coimbatore Jn – Irugur Jn – Podanur In – Coimbatore Jn (Proposed for Both Metro and Mainline Routes)(circular line as well as urban line).^[7][8]

Local passenger trains from Coimbatore Junction is operating on all the above-mentioned sub urban routes except the Coimbatore Jn – Irugur Jn – Coimbatore Jn (circular line as well as urban line).^[9]

Suburban stations

The other stations serving Coimbatore include Coimbatore North Junction (CBF), Podanur Junction (PTJ), Irugur Junction (IGU), Madukkarai (MDKI), Pilamedu (PLMD), Singanallur (SHI), Sulur Road (SUU),^[10] Periyanaickenpalayam railway station (PKU) and Somanur (SNO).^[11] Other stations like Chettipalayam, Urumandampalayam, Veerapandi and Pudupalayam are defunct. The people have asked to reopen the stations.,^[12] The 1 km long Nanjundapuram Railway link line became completely defunct and was dismantled soon after the Coimbatore North – Irugur line was put to use.

Restoration of this Nanjundapuram Railway link line will help plan circular suburban electric train track connecting major train stations in the outskirts of Coimbatore like Mettupalayam, Irugur, Podanur, Pollachi etc. to ease growing peripheral traffic. Reopening this defunct Nanjundapuram Railway line & Station can benefit residents from Nanjundapuram, Ramanathapuram, Redfields, Puliakulam, Sowripalayam, Udayampalayam, Singanallur, Varadarajapuram, Uppilipalayam and Ondipudur areas of Coimbatore for train connections to onward destinations. Irugur via Nanjundapuram: This bye-pass connection from Irugur – Podanur line to Coimbatore bypassing Podanur had been laid long back at a time when Coimbatore was connected only from Podanur as a branch from Irugur–Podanur–Shoranur line. It was done to facilitate trains from Erode side to directly go to Coimbatore. However, this connection became superfluous when Coimbatore was directly connected from Irugur side via Pilamedu and Coimbatore North in 1953, and accordingly, this link line was removed at that time. Since the doubling work between Irugur–Coimbatore section is in progress, these double lines will be utilised for suburban traffic if required.^{[13] [citation needed]}

List of railway stations

List of railway stations in Coimbatore
No	Name	Native Name	Station Code
1	Coimbatore Junction	கோயம்புத்தூர் சந்திப்பு	CBE
2	Podanur Junction	போத்தனூர் சந்திப்பு	PTJ
3	Coimbatore North Junction	கோயம்புத்தூர் வடக்கு சந்திப்பு	CBF
4	Pilamedu	பீளமேடு	PLMD
5	Singanallur	சிங்காநல்லூர்	SHI
6	Irugur Junction	இருகூர் சந்திப்பு	IGU
7	Periyanaickenpalayam	பெரியநாயக்கன்பாளையம்	PKM
8	Madukkarai	மதுக்கரை	MDKI
9	Somanur	சோமனூர்	SNO
10	Sulur Road	சூலூர் ரோடு	SUU
11	Thudiyalur	துடியலூர்	TDE
12	Karamadai	காரமடை	KAY
13	Ettimadai	எட்டிமடை	ETMD
14	Kinathukadavu	கிணத்துக்கடவு	CNV
15	Pollachi Junction	பொள்ளாச்சி	POY [14]
16	Anaimalai Road	ஆனைமலை	ANM [15]
17	Gomangalam	கோமங்கலம்	GMGM [16]
18	Kallar	கல்லார்	QLR [17]
19	Mettupalayam	மேட்டுப்பாளையம்	MTP [17]
20	Adderley	அடர்லி	ADY[17]
21	Minatchipuram	மீனாட்சிபுரம்	MXM [18][19]

Coimbatore Broad Gauge Metro (Circular Suburban) Railway{\^{[20] [21] [22]}

List of closed railway stations

List of Defunct and closed railway stations in Coimbatore[23][24][17]
No.	Name
1	Chettipalayam (CIM) [25][26]
2	Urumandampalayam (URP)
3	Veerapandi (VRPT)
4	Pudupalayam
5	Nallatipalayam (NLPM) [27]
6	Kovilpalayam (CVM) [28]
7	Pulankinar (PLKR) [29][24][30][31][32][33]
8	Tippampatti (TPMP) [34]
9	Kallar (QLR/) [35][36]
10	Tamaraikulam
11	Kurumbapalayam (KMBP) [37]
12	Vellalore Road [37]
13	Old Singanallur(SHI) [37]
14	Nallampalayam/Koundempalayam/Goundampalayam
15	NarasimhaNaikenPALAYAM HALT
16	Ondipudur HALT
17	ADRL/Adderley (ADY-NMR) [38][39][40]

References

1. "Coimbatore Metro – Information, Route Maps, Fares, Tenders & Updates".
2. "Nagpur Broad Gauge Metro: Project Information, Tenders, Stations, Routes and Updates".
3. "Circular rail link suggested to decongest roads in city". The Hindu. 14 August 2011.
4. https://sr.indianrailways.gov.in/view_detail.jsp?lang=0&dcd=14820&id=0,4,268
5. "Unique circular train system for Coimbatore proposed". The Hindu. 24 December 2015.
6. "640953-33: Another one from hindu Irugur- Pothanur - Railway Enquiry".
7. Khanna, Rajat (8 September 2021). "Coimbatore Metro Rail Project would be completed at the cost of Rs. 6,300 crores". Metro Rail News. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
8. Kumar, Sampath (16 October 2021). "Call for circular rail service connecting suburbs gets louder". The Times of India. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
9. Palaniappan, V. S. (14 August 2011). "Circular rail link suggested to decongest roads in city". The Hindu.
10. P, Arpit. "Sulur Road Railway Station Map/Atlas SR/Southern Zone - Railway Enquiry". indiarailinfo.com.
11. "Route KM-Statewise" (PDF). Southern Railway zone. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
12. Palaniappan, V. S. (29 November 2013). "Revival of defunct railway stations". The Hindu.
13. "IR Southern Zone - Discussion :: Defunct railway lines". Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
14. "Census of India: Search Details". Archived from the original on 21 October 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
15. "Home". atrpollachi.com.
16. "Coimbatore - Palani Passenger (UnReserved)/56609 Time Table/Schedule: Coimbatore to Palani SR/Southern Zone - Railway Enquiry".
17. "Table 6: Coimbatore - Mettupalayam - Udhagamandalam | Chainage Documents". IRFCA.org. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
18. https://www.irfca.org/chainage/table-29.html
19. "Minatchipuram Railway Station Map/Atlas SR/Southern Zone - Railway Enquiry".
20. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353879651_Coimbatore_Circular_Railway_Coimbatore_Suburban_Railway
21. "Coimbatore Suburban Railway and Mammalapuram Tram - Metro Rail News". 6 November 2023.
22. "New Transport Options for City of Oranges and Covai - Metro Rail News". 5 November 2022.
23. "India Railway Board History Of Indian Railways Constructed And In Progress". 12 June 1937 – via Internet Archive.
24. "Table 28: Dindigul - Palani - Pollachi - Coimbatore | Chainage Documents". IRFCA.org. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
25. "Villagers seek railway station at Chettipalayam". August 2017.
26. "Panchayat office picketed". The Hindu. 2 August 2017.
27. "Passengers rue poor rail connectivity in southern districts, new broad gauge line remains underutilised". DT Next. 5 October 2018. Archived from the original on 25 November 2021.
28. "Reconsider decision on Kovilpalayam Railway Station: MDMK". The Hindu. 25 October 2012.
29. "Pulankinar Railway Station Forum/Discussion - Railway Enquiry".
30. "Pulankinar/PLKR station train timings | Vasthurengan.Com". vasthurengan.com.
31. "Coimbatore: Call to revive 2 railway stations | Coimbatore News - Times of India". The Times of India. 5 December 2019.
32. "Need To Construct A New Railway Station At Aachipatty Near Pollachi In ... on 19 March, 2012". indiankanoon.org. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
33. "Pollachi MP Shanmuga Sundaram requests Railway Minister Piyush for completion of various railway projects in Pollachi soon". 21 December 2020.
34. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 November 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
35. "Kallar Railway Station Timeline - Railway Enquiry".
36. "Kallar Railway Station, Tamil Nadu 641305". indiapl.com.
37. "Table 2: Jolarpettai - Coimbatore - Kozhikkode - Mangaluru | Chainage Documents". IRFCA.org. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
38. https://www.irfca.org/chainage/table-6.html
39. "Adderley Railway Station Map/Atlas SR/Southern Zone - Railway Enquiry".
40. "Google Maps".