COIMBATORE: The railways has invited tenders for the construction of a trip maintenance/advance inspection centre at Podanur railway station along with reconstruction of a marriage hall at a total cost of Rs 8.5 crore. The marriage hall is owned by railways. The tender was opened and uploaded on March 11, and the last date for submitting bids is April 7. According to the tender invite, the duration for the completion of the project is 16 months from the date of commencement. Southern Railway is developing the Podanur station as the second terminal here to decongest the Coimbatore Junction railway station. Development work to the tune of approximately Rs 100 crore is under way. Earlier, tenders for the pit line formation and coach maintenance facility were floated. Following this, the tenders for the trip maintenance shed have been floated. TN Lakshmi Narayanan of the Coimbatore South Development Federation said the trip maintenance shed would handle the engine inspection and maintenance. “The redevelopment of the marriage hall is also done because engines and coaches should go through this area to reach the maintenance facility. Moreover, the marriage hall that was built almost 25 to 30 years ago needs renovation. The railways is planning to reconstruct the marriage hall on a multi-floor model to address the space constraints. The new hall will be built near the railway quarters,” he said.
