The development of the Balaramapuram railway station along the Thiruvanthapuram-Kanyakumary railway line is being explored as part of the ₹555-crore rail link to the proposed Vizhinjam International Multipurpose Deepwater Seaport.
The development of the halt station is being looked into in view of the inability to acquire the needed land to lay a third dedicated line from Balaramapuram to the proposed coaching depot at Nemom for the movement of goods train to the Vizhinjam seaport.
Special purpose firm
A committee comprising officials of the Department of Ports, Vizhinjam International Seaport Limited (VISL) -- a special purpose company supervising the execution of the seaport project -- and Railways has been set up to look into the station development.
Divisional Railway Manager, Thiruvananthapuran, Shirish Kumar Sinha told The Hindu that Balaramapuram station will have to be developed into a full-fledged station.
Signalling system, manpower, shunting neck, siding as in a full-fledged station will have to be created in Balaramapuram.
“The detailed plan and estimate will have to be worked out. Acquiring land for laying a third line from Balaramapuram to Nemom had been ruled out by the State in view of high cost of land and density of population,” he said.
Already, Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL), a Central public sector enterprise functioning under the Ministry of Railways, has been roped in to lay the ₹555-crore rail link. The KRCL has set up a office and commenced the work, sources said.
The 12-km rail connectivity to the Vizhinjam seaport will be from Balaramapuram and eight to nine km will be through tunnels to reduce further displacement of people.
The plan is to establish the rail link by May 2022 and 12.14 hectares of land is to be acquired by the State government on the Balaramapuram-Vizhinjam stretch for link-up to the main railway line.
Experts in tunnels
The KRCL, experts in the country in constructing tunnels, was roped in after Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL), under the Ministry of Railways, backed out from the project.
The KRCL will have to finalise the alignment from Balaramapuram to Vizhinjam.
Land acquisition
Already, the work to acquire the land for doubling and electrification of the 86.56-km Thiruvananthapuram Central- Kanyakumari line at an estimated cost of ₹1,431.90 crore has begun. Railways are putting pressure to commence the work up to Nemom so that the Coaching depot work can also be kicked off.
