THOOTHUKUDI: As a solution to their traffic woes and to enhance accessibility and safety, the residents of several wards of the Thoothukudi corporation have been demanding a new railway gate or a rail overbridge connecting Nikilesan Nagar and VMS Nagar along the Thoothukudi-Tirunelveli railway line.
They said a new railway gate at the level crossing would provide easier transport access to the people living in approximately 20,000 houses on either side of the track, and ease congestion at the fourth railway gate near the New Bus Stand.
The Thoothukudi-Tirunelveli railway line, which divides the Thoothukudi city in two, leads to the century-old railway station near the Thoothukudi Beach. Within the corporation limits, four level crossings with railway gates are located along the line. An increase in the number of vehicles and city expansion, among other factors, have generated a demand for the fifth railway gate, a rail over bridge, or a subway at the intersection.
The residents living between VMS Nagar and Meelavittan (wards 13, 14, 2, and 1) on the north side of the track and those between Nikilesan Nagar and SIPCOT (wards 16, 18, 33, and 34) on the south side are forced to take a detour of several kilometres to gain access to schools, colleges, commercial establishments and government offices located on either side of the track. To prevent trespassing, concrete slabs were placed on one side of the track.
J Jeyakumar, a resident of VMS Nagar, said schoolchildren and workers often trespass onto the tracks, risking their lives, as crossing over to the other side at the intersection heavily reduces their travel distances. Another resident, K Ramesh, a four-wheeler mechanic from Third Mile, says he has to take a four-kilometre detour to cross at the fourth railway gate to reach his workshop in VMS Nagar.
Thoothukudi corporation mayor Jegan Periyasamy told TNIE that the corporation, in 2022, passed a resolution demanding a subway to connect Nikilesan Nagar and VMS Nagar. “There are complaints of trespassing, and we are ready to provide road access at the intersection as vehicular movement has also increased severalfold,” he said. “We are finding ways to diffuse traffic to reduce air pollution, as mandated by the Action Plan for a Non-Attainment Cities, issued by the TNPCB,” he said. Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi had also given a representation to railway minister in this regard.
A senior railway officer told TNIE that the railways, as a policy decision, has been considering rail overbridges and subways to eliminate level crossings all over the country. A fresh appeal has to be given to consider the construction of a rail overbridge or a subway, the officer said.