Kerala - Kochi   

New platform at Ernakulam Junction non-functional

KOCHI: The sixth platform at the Ernakulam Junction railway station is yet to be operationalised even two years after its construction.

This has affected the movement of trains at the station. Though a track was laid over a year ago, it can hold only a small passenger train.

Most trains now have 14 or more bogies and hence cannot pull into the platform. The track is unusable as it is yet to be linked to the lines from Kumbalam and Ernakulam North. Moreover, it has to be linked to the main line and signal system at the station.

A senior official attributed the delay to lack of coordination between the traffic and engineering wings of the railways. The delay has resulted in underutilisation of the foot overbridge and other amenities on the platform. The multi-storey building built by the Greater Cochin Development Authority on the eastern entry too was remaining unutilised, because of the delay in opening the platform and a dispute over its net value.

He said that the terminal facility was very poor at the station, with trains being held up for long duration at Kumbalam, Thripunithura and Ernakulam North for line clearance.

“Things will get worse once the Sabarimala season starts. This is apart from the fact that only one of the two booking counters at the station’s eastern entry is manned during weekdays. Trains which arrive at the station after maintenance work from the coaching depot could easily have pulled into the sixth platform, instead of vying for berth in the other congested platforms.”

The work on the proposed eastern entry at the Ernakulam Town railway station too has been held up. The railways have also come under fire for its delay in completing the Pullepady overbridge.

Though the Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala completed work on the approach spans about two years ago, the railways have not even completed half the work on the 25-metre portion over the tracks.

The bridge will provide commuters an alternative to the congested Ernakulam North overbridge.

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