As part of decongesting the Thiruvananthapuram Central railway station and to bring more mail and express trains to the State capital, Railways are gearing up to commence work on the ₹39-crore third phase development of the Kochuveli terminal soon.
The work will be taken up in various stages in view of the paucity of funds faced by Railways.
Two platforms and a stabling line will be constructed in the initial stage at ₹6 crore.
Tenders awarded
Tenders had been awarded and civil works would commence soon as the work had to be completed by March 2021, a construction wing official told The Hindu .
Besides the civil works, electrification of the platform lines, mechanical work and modernisation of signal and telecommunication will be taken up.
All the Phase III works are scheduled for completion by March 2022.
Railways will go for Electronic Interlocking (EI) equipment, instead of relay interlocking, as part of the upgrade.
The EI is a computerised software system for controlling interlocking between signals and points. The EI ensured better safety and less maintenance and was being introduced for first time in this region, the official said.
With the commissioning of two platforms, the number of platforms in Kochuveli would go up to six. The terminal presently has only two platforms for train operations, three pit lines for urgent maintenance, and three stabling yards.
Two platforms do not have lines and another two do not have signalling systems to handle trains.
The upgrade of facilities will help the introduction of new mail and express trains in the railway network of the State that is saturated.
63 trains
Although 63 long-distance mail and express trains can be handled at the terminal in a week, Railways are operating just one-and-a-half dozen trains a week. Lack of connectivity from the city and reluctance of passengers to board from Kochuveli are the hurdles.
With the new facilities, the extended journey for long-distance mail and express trains to Nagercoil junction and Kanyakumari due to lack of standard pit lines to take up urgent maintenance can be avoided.
The plan
The plan is to commence north-bound trains from Nemom and south-bound trains from Kochuveli once the Nemom coaching terminal is completed.
Besides, trains from Tenkasi via Punalur reaching Kollam can also be brought to the Kochuveli terminal.
