The redevelopment of Southern Railway’s Kollam Junction is progressing swiftly under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme with the aim to transform into state-of-the-art facilities and infrastructure that meet international standards. Significant progress has already been made, including the completion of surveys, demolition work, and concrete laying.
More Details:
Kollam Junction is the second busiest railway station in Kerala in terms of trains handled per day. The station witnesses an average footfall of 1.6 crore per annum which corresponds to nearly 47000 footfalls daily. In order to handle the ever-increasing passenger volumes, Southern Railway has taken up the redevelopment project under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. The revamped station will sport state-of-the- art facilities and infrastructure on par with international standards.
Image Credit: MoR
Roadmap to Kollam Junction Redevelopment:
- The work of Re-development of Kollam Junction Railway Station was awarded as an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract for an amount of Rs. 361.18 Crore in August 2022 with a completion period of 39 months.
- The redevelopment project of Kollam Junction is planned at the Southern side and Northern Side of the existing station building. Southern and Northern Terminal buildings will help in segregation of operation related administrative and commercial activities from the passenger movement and will host amenities on par with world class standards.
- The newly developed Kollam junction station will have ample number of lifts and escalators, multi-level car parking, pick up and drop off facilities and dedicated arrival and departure concourse.
Image Credit: Southern Railway
Southern Terminal:
The revamped 3-storey Southern Terminal structure, with a built-up area of 22655 sq.m, built to world class standards will be provided with ample space for passenger circulation along with facilities like booking, baggage scanning, waiting halls, information Centre, helpline booths, restaurants, GRP & RPF outposts.
Northern Terminal:
The North terminal building is a G+1 structure with an area of 918 sq.m with Ground floor mainly accommodating functions such as the ticket counter, booking office, retail kiosk, arrival and departure lobby for passengers entering from the Northern side.
The Northern side also has dedicated drop – off and pick up points with lanes dedicated for easy taxi and four-wheeler movement. The proposed north terminal building is in close proximity to NH 744 providing an easy access to the terminal building.
Air Concourse:
The air concourse is an integral part of the proposed Kollam Station. The structure spans across the railway tracks connecting all passenger platforms. The Air Concourse acts as a connecting corridor for both the South and North terminal buildings of the station situated 120 m apart, thus facilitating seamless movement of passengers. The Air Concourse of 36 m width and area 4,780 sq.m will be constructed to serve the following purposes:
- Segregated movement of arriving and departing passengers.
- Waiting areas for passengers boarding trains from island platforms.
- Food & Beverages counters for the passengers.
- Transfer of passengers to platforms by the help of Vertical Circulation Elements such as Lifts, Escalators and Stairs.
- The concourse will be designed in such a way that passengers would have better visibility of platforms.
- Ease of access to Parking lots, bus bays and pedestrian pathways
Facilities similar to airport concourses will be provided while special provisions have been included to ensure that cargo movement is not causing any inconvenience to the passengers.
Image Credit: MoR
Escalators & Lifts:
As against 2 Escalators in 3 Platforms presently, it is proposed to provide a total 14 nos. Of Escalators, out of which 10 nos. will interlink platforms to concourse and the remaining 4 nos. for the Southern Terminal. As against 2 lifts in 2 platforms presently, it is proposed to provide total 18 nos. of lifts out of which 8 no’s in platforms, 6 nos. in South terminal and 2 nos. in Northern Terminal.
Multi-level Car Parking:
It is proposed to construct Multi-Level Car Parking (MLCP), which will be a G+4 structure having a total built-up area of 11445 sqm with EV charging facility. There will be a parking facility for 160 cars and 292 Two-wheelers. The circulating area at South Terminal will have a wide road with access to Multi level car parking. The entry and exit roads are planned with drop off, drop-in, pick-up points etc. for free movement of vehicles, pedestrians etc. A separate Bus Bay is also planned.
Work Executed:
- Site topographical survey, drone survey, soil investigation and Validation of Master plan completed
- Site office, Laboratory facilities, Storage facilities construction completed and inaugurated
- Gang restroom completed and handed over to authority
- Site safety Barricading
- Foundation work for FOB completed
- Demolition of existing building for making right of way completed for Phase – 1 works.
- Erection of Concrete batching plant completed and commissioned
- Augmentation of raw materials for concreting is being collected and stored
- Around 36 existing facilities including Railway Magistrate court, RMS, Parcel Office and Crew control Office are shifted to temporary facilities for fast tracking of construction of South Terminal within the target date
- Surface parking completed and handed over
Image Credit: Southern Railway
Work in Progress:
- Service building and SSE works building are in the finishing stage and will be handed over shortly
- South Terminal Segment – 1 Piling work and slab concreting work in progress (162 out of 486 piles completed and pile cap 34 out of 129 completed.)
- FOB staircase and escalator foundation work in progress
- Multi-level Car Parking (MLCP) third floor roof concreting progress
- Air concourse piling in progress (92 out of 119 piles completed.)
- Substation terrace floor slab concreting completed and cable trench work in progress
- Parcel building foundation work in progress (41 piles out of 73 piles completed.)
- Overall Physical work progress is 25% and financial progress is 20%
Source: Southern Railway – Press Release | Featured Image Credit: MoR
