Soon free shuttle service at Junction

Trichy: The Trichy railway division
have proposed to introduce shuttle service for passengers to and from the Trichy railway station. The services, which will be free, will operate from the station till the roundabout near the steam-loco put on display. Each bus can carry at least 25 people and will operate non-stop.

A Chennai-based firm has been contracted to run the service. Two buses, which will be battery operated, can each carry 25 people and luggage from the railway station platform to the main entrance roundabout and vice-versa. "Differently-abled, senior citizen and ailing persons can utilise the service to reach their respective platforms from the entrance where they alight from the bus," he added.

"On an average, Trichy railway station daily receives footfalls of 30,000 passengers, as a number of trains cross the station with many express and passenger trains. Since most of the passengers reach the station by city buses, they have to walk from the main entrance to the platform. To facilitate passengers, the railway has taken this initiative," a senior official stated.

No money would be collected from the passengers for the service. The operator would carry advertisements on the bus for generating revenue, the official said. "The city buses which are currently coming inside the station would gradually be stopped. It has also been decided to use the second entry for this purpose once the ongoing construction on the foot over-bridge is completed," he added.