Thiruvananthapuram: Union external affairs minister S Jaishankar, who is on a three-day visit in the state, is likely to visit the proposed coaching terminal site at Nemom on Tuesday.
The BJP district unit has sought the minister’s intervention to revive the coaching terminal plan, which the railways has abandoned.
The move comes in the wake of protests mounting from all quarters against the railway’s decision to abandon the project that was expected to decongest the Thiruvananthapuram Central.
In reply to a question raised by John Brittas MP in Rajya Sabha, the railway minister had said that the development of Kochuveli terminal would be enough to meet the railways needs and the development of Nemom terminal was found not feasible. On Monday, DYFI workers took out protest marches to various railway stations in the district, demanding revival of the terminal.
The Thiruvananthapuram Central handles around 50-70 trains per day, and the bulk of the traffic is between 6am and 10am, and from 6pm to 10pm. Any delay in arriving or departing trains during the peak hours affects other services.
“As most of the trains in Thiruvananthapuram operate in the northern direction, trains originating or ending at Nemom (to or from the northern regions) would also connect to Thiruvananthapuram Central railway station, whereas trains starting from or terminating at Kochuveli would not enter the city due to “constraints”, a memorandum submitted by the BJP district leadership to the minister pointed out.
