Thiruvananthapuram: Five stations under the Thiruvananthapuram Railway Division have been selected for enhanced passenger amenities under the "Touch and Feel" programme, S. Vijayakumaran, Divisional Manager, said on Tuesday.

The stations are Kanyakumari, Thiruvananthapuram Central, Kollam, Ernakulam and Thrissur.

Mr. Vijayakumaran was speaking after unfurling the tricolour at the Independence Day function at the divisional railway office, Thycaud here.

An amount of Rs.5.2 crore was set apart for improving passenger amenities in the division. This was likely to cross Rs.8 crore at the end of the current financial year.

A new reservation centre at Kuzhithurai would be opened shortly. Eight unreserved ticketing systems would be added this year.

New booking office buildings would be constructed at Nagercoil, Thiruvananthapuram Central and Ernakulam Junction and additional waiting halls at Ernakulam Junction, Ernakulam Town and Kottayam.

Another 19 stations would be provided with platforms to accommodate 24-coach trains. At present, only the Thiruvananthapuram Central, Ernakulam Junction and Thrissur stations had such a facility. The Thiruvananthapruam-Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram-Bangalore and Nagercoil-Chennai, all newly sanctioned trains, would be introduced soon.

Stating that the Railways would give top priority to passenger safety, Mr. Vijayakumaran pointed out that 192 of the 435 level-crossings in the division were still unmanned. Twenty-five level-crossings on the Kayamkulam-Alappuzha stretch would be manned this year and interlocking provided at 32 level-crossing gates.

Electrification up to Thiruvananthapuram Central would be commissioned next month. Sanction for the Rs.22-crore second phase development of the Kochuveli terminal and the Rs.7-crore second phase development of Nagercoil Junction was expected shortly.

The division carried 2.997 million tonnes of freight traffic in 2005-2006 compared to 1.97 million tonnes in 2004-2005. Last year, it earned Rs.293 crores from passenger traffic.

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