Integrated Tiruchy terminus to be most sought-after transit hub

TIRUCHY: With the proposed and much awaited Integrated Bus Terminus (IBT) taking shape, Tiruchy City is poised to turn into a significant transit transportation hub in Tamil Nadu for geographically being at the centre of the state.

Since the city is well connected by road and highway leading to major destinations across the state, the passengers who prefer a break journey opt for Tiruchy for its proximity and adequate transport facilities.

Though the upcoming Panchapur IBT is around 10 km away from the present Central bus stand from where all the mofussil buses are being operated, the people express satisfaction with the preferred location which is at Madurai-Chennai bypass and has ring road connections to Pudukkottai, Karur, Thanjavur and Musiri, the entry points to the further stretch of Chennai, Rameshwaram, Coimbatore, Nagapattinam and Salem.

“An integrated bus terminal was planned around three decades back as Tiruchy’s bus stand is situated in the heart of the city and has experienced hectic traffic congestion due to the swift development in all terms. But based on the population, the Central bus stand was expanded to the adjacent location for the Mofussil buses and then the Chathiram bus stand was established as per the requirement. In due course of time, the IBT was thought to be an immediate requirement and for the past 10 years, steps were initiated and now it is taking shape”, Dr M A Aleem, a noted neurologist and member of Trichy District Welfare Fund Committee told DT Next.

Dr Aleem who was spearheading a series of steps for infrastructural development in the city, said that the present location for the IBT is apt, as it is well connected with the National and State Highways and the operation would be easier.

He said, most of passengers nowadays prefer to cut their long tedious journey and Tiruchy is a convenient place for them considering the connectivity and facilities for a traveller.

“Even passengers reach the airport and the railway station in 10 minutes from the new IBT. They can enjoy a hassle-free traffic movement as there are several elevated corridors underway to decongest the vehicle traffic”, Dr Aleem said.

The new IBT is proposed to have a separate terminal for omnibuses, trucks and other vehicles and the markets, shops and various other facilities would also be made available. It would certainly change the face of Tiruchy, he added.

Panchapur IBT to have state-of-art terminus

The Integrated Bus Terminus would be spread across around 40 acres of which the truck terminal will be earmarked on about 32.90 acres and the multi-utilities centre comprising commercial spaces will be built on about 5.20 acres.

According to the plan, Rs 243 crore funds have been allocated for the terminus and commercial area and Rs 106 crore has been allotted for the truck terminal and road infrastructure. A loan from Tamil Nadu Urban Finance Infrastructure Development Corporation (TUFIDCO) and the share of Tiruchy Corporation’s fund and the state government’s Infrastructure and amenities fund shall also be utilised.

To ensure a state-of-the-art bus terminal, a Bengaluru-based consultant was assigned a scope of works including planning the overall design of the bus terminus, bus bays and zoning, inter-city and intra-city bus circulation, pedestrian movement, connectivity analysis, location analysis, formation of access roads, creation of passenger amenities, facilities for bus crews, providing drinking water to the passengers, control room, establishment of hassle-free access roads from the bus terminus with highways, hospital, police check post and fire and rescue service station

According to the officials, the bays and roads in the IBT would accommodate as many as 404 buses and handle at least 10,000 passengers at a time. While 200 buses would be on the move, spaces for a short stay of 100 buses would be established.

Meanwhile, a wholesale and retail market would be established in an area of 28 acres adjacent to the new bus stand. In addition to that, a trading centre would be established by the Tiruchy City Corporation.

Market space to boost business

As an additional feature, the proposed IBT would also have a dedicated space for a market spanning 22 acres to facilitate the farmers to market their produce.

Sources said the existing Kallakudi market is poorly designed that the farmers and traders have an aversion to occupying their space there. The city corporation has come up with the idea of functioning the vegetable and fruit market adjacent to the IBT. “This would bring a solution to the problems in shifting Gandhi Market and each vendor would have a decent space there,” said a senior official from the Corporation.

According to the official, the upcoming market would have all facilities including cold storage and godowns. “Since there is road connectivity to Madurai, Dindigul, Pudukottai, Thanjavur, Karur and Chennai districts via the upcoming semi-ring roads, it would be easy for the farmers as well as the vendors to reach the proposed market which would certainly turn as a hub for wholesale vegetable and fruit sales in a very short period,” the official said.

“The shops will be available for rent to all sections of people. As the new bus stand and truck terminal would be very close to the proposed market, traders from other districts will also be interested,” the official said.