Railways thin down old station revival plan

Kochi: Despite demands from various quarters to convert the old railway station into a suburban hub, the railways is finalizing a renovation plan that limits the activities to running a few passenger trains and excludes activities like electrification and infrastructure building.

“We’re reactivating the unused station and plan to run a few passenger trains, say one in the morning and evening peak hours in the near future, using diesel engines.

There is no plan to electrify the section as the Southern railway general manager recently termed the original Rs 300-crore plan as “not feasible”, said a senior railway officer
Southern railway general manager Rakesh Mishra would hold discussions with chief minister Oommen Chandy and union minister K. V. Thomas on January 4 to underline this point.

The meet will also take up the Pachalam RoB project, now handed over to the DMRC, and the “minor issues” involved in acquiring railway land for the Kochi metro project.

The Ernakulam Goods Yard was originally proposed to be an electrified route and a hub of suburban trains in the future.

It was then planned to set up six tracks and a commercial shopping complex in the 35-acre land at the old station.

Meanwhile, Hibi Eden MLA said that the railways should take up the renovation project at the earliest and that it should not be limited to just a few passenger trains.