Coimbatore Junction railway station

Coimbatore Junction railway station (station code: CBE) is a railway station located in Coimbatore in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the major rail-head in the city and comes under the jurisdiction of Salem railway division of Southern Railway zone. It is one of the busiest and highest revenue generating stations in India. The station lies on the Jolarpettai–Shoranur main line and has six side platforms.

Coimbatore Junction
rail station
Main entrance of the station
General information
Other names	Coimbatore City Junction Coimbatore Main Junction[1]
Location	State Bank Road, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu – 641018
Coordinates	10.996365°N 76.967222°E / 10.996365; 76.967222
Elevation	411.4 metres (1,350 ft)
Owned by	Indian Railways
Operated by	Southern Railway zone
Line(s)	Chennai–Coimbatore Coimbatore–Shoranur Coimbatore–Mettupalayam Coimbatore–Pollachi
Platforms	6 side platforms
Tracks	15
Construction
Parking	Available
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Status	Functional
Station code	CBE[2]
Zone(s)	Southern Railway zone
Division(s)	Salem
History
Opened	1873; 152 years ago (1873)[3]
Electrified	Yes
Location Coimbatore Junction Location within Tamil Nadu Interactive map

History

Aerial view of Coimbatore Junction in 1930s

Train service in Coimbatore started with the opening of railway station at Podanur in 1862 as a part of the Podanur–Madras line connecting the west coast with the rest of India.^[4][5] Coimbatore junction became operational on 1 February 1873 after the construction of a branch line connecting Podanur. It was started as a halt station for the Coimbatore–Mettupalayam branch line.^[6] Until 1956, the Coimbatore Railway Division was functioning with Podanur as the headquarters before the headquarters was shifted to Olavakkode which became Palakkad railway division.^[7] The station became part of the newly formed Salem railway division in 2006.^[8] Coimbatore is among the top hundred booking stations of Indian Railways.^[9][10][11] As of 2023^[update], it contributes to nearly 45% of the revenues of the Salem railway division and is classified as a NSG-2 station (annual revenue between 100 and 5 billion rupees and 10–20 million passengers handled).^[12][13]

Network and infrastructure

The station lies on the Jolarpettai–Shoranur 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge main line with other lines branching out from Coimbatore North and Podanur junctions.^[14][15] The station is connected with following railway lines:^[16][4][6]

• Jolarpettai–Shoranur
  • Chennai–Coimbatore
  • Coimbatore–Shoranur
• Coimbatore–Pollachi
• Coimbatore–Mettupalayam

The station has six platforms and handles about 165 trains daily.^[17] It is one of the 73 stations in Tamil Nadu to be named for upgradation under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme of Indian Railways.^[18]

See also

• Railway stations in Coimbatore
• Coimbatore Metro
• Transport in Coimbatore