Reviving the Old Railway Station and operating trains to the heritage station might be a slow process, despite assurances by Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda.
The Railway Ministry’s focus on completing long-pending projects signals its reluctance to take up new projects like track and station renovation.
“The 1-km track to the station, sleepers and ballast have to be replaced and this would cost approximately Rs 8.5 crore. Renovating the worn-out, century-old station building would cost Rs 2 crore.
“Another Rs 1.50 crore will have to be set apart for installing signals. Electrification would cost extra. Basic renovation of the station and tracks would thus cost a total of Rs 13 to Rs 15 crore, which the Railway is not in a position to spare,” Railway sources said.
“The Railway Ministry is focused on completing projects whose works are nearing completion or are at least half way through. This is a departure from the past when token funds were set apart for each project, with the result that they lagged on for decades,” they said.
Thiruvananthapuram Divisional Railway Manager Sunil Bajpai said that Ernakulam Junction and Town railway stations can be decongested only if the line to Old Railway Station is electrified. The Railway Ministry must decide on this.
During his visit to Kochi over a fortnightago, General Manager of Southern Railway Rakesh Misra had stated that Railway Land Development Authority is studying the proposal to revive the station located in 42 acres of prime land behind High Court of Kerala. Ernakulam Old Railway Station Vikasana Samithi has been on the warpath demanding speedy renovation of the station.
Another 72 acres of Railway land in Harbour Terminus railway station in Willingdon Island is lying underutilised due to delay in commissioning the Venduruthy railway overbridge and Navy’s opposition to installing overhead electric lines near Naval airport.
“The track to the station from Ernakulam Junction is rather intact and all that is required is a new signalling system that costs around Rs 2 crore and electric traction. Navy’s concerns can be addressed if we switch off the line during aircraft take off,” sources said.
Though uncertainty looms large over the fate of restoring train services to the two stations, Railways is doing precious little to augment passenger amenities at Ernakulam Junction station. Responding to this, Mr Sunil Bajpai said that all depended on availability of funds. The sole silver lining is that work to build a roof over platform six has begun.
