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Coimbatore or Kovai is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the second largest city and urban agglomeration in the state after Chennai and the sixteenth largest urban agglomeration in India. It is administered by the Coimbatore Municipal Corporation and is the administrative capital of Coimbatore district. It is one of the fastest growing tier-II cities in India and a major textile, industrial, commercial, educational, information technology, healthcare and manufacturing hub of Tamil Nadu. It is often referred to as the "Manchester of South India" due to its cotton production and textile industries.
Train service in Coimbatore started in 1861, upon construction of the Podanur – Madras line connecting Kerala and the west coast with the rest of India. Coimbatore lies on the Coimbatore - Shoranur Broad gauge railway line and the city falls under the Salem Division of the Southern Railway zone of Indian Railways. The major railway station is the Coimbatore Junction which is the second largest income generating station in the Southern Railway zone after Chennai Central and is amongst the top hundred booking stations of Indian Railways. Other major railway stations catering to the city include Coimbatore North Junction, Podanur Junction and minor stations at Peelamedu, Singanallur, Irugur Junction, Perianaikanpalayam, Madukkarai, Somanur and Sulur.
Monorail
Three monorail routes have been proposed. Two circular routes, in the northern and southern parts of the city and a dual linear line connecting the Eastern and Western parts. The Northern Route starts from Gandhipuram via Ganapathy, Sivanandha colony, Saibaba colony, RS Puram, Townhall, City Railway Station and ends in Gandhipuram. The second circular Route starts from Podanur via Trichy Road, Sungam, Redfields, Race Course, City Railway Station, Ukkadam and ends at Podanur. A linear line was also proposed from Chinniampalayam, Coimbatore International Airport, CODISSIA, PSG Tech, Lakshmi Mills, Gandhipuram, Coimbatore North Junction, Cowley Brown Road and TNAU. Recently Vadavalli and Thondamuthur are the two new areas that has been included in the linear line as part of the phase extension.