Southern Railway’s Ernakulam Junction redevelopment work gains momentum

December 24, 2022 Rail News

Ernakulam Junction Railway Station (also known as Ernakulam South Station) is all set for a world-class makeover at a cost of Rs.299.95 Crores. This NSG-2 category railhead handling more than 128 scheduled trains daily, will be revamped with futuristic infrastructure and state-of-the art passenger facilities keeping abreast of times and satisfying the needs of rail passengers for the next four decades.

More Details:

  • As o­ne of the busiest stations in South India, Ernakulam Junction presently handles over 1.96 Crore passenger footfall annually. The upgrade will accommodate exponential growth in passenger traffic in the years to come.

Award of Contract:

  • Southern Railway has awarded the work of Redevelopment of Ernakulam Junction Railway station as EPC contractor M/s Bridge and Roof Company India Ltd, Kolkata o­n 13.07.2022 at a cost of Rs.299.95 Crores, setting a time frame of 24 months for completion of the project.
  • The sanctioned cost of the project is Rs. 444.63 crores. M/s PEMS Engineering Consultants, in joint venture with Balaji Railroad Systems Pvt Ltd have been tasked with the work of Project Management services (PMS). The PMS consultant is responsible for monitoring the project.

Roadmap to Redevelopment:

  • The redevelopment project of Ernakulam Junction is planned at Western Side and Eastern Side of the existing station building for a total built up area of about 62,000 sq.m. The façade of the station building will be designed to reflect  the vernacular architectural character of Kerala.

Western Side:

  • The existing station building at Western side will be demolished in 3 stages. The revamped West Terminal structure with G+4 world class standards will house ticketing area, waiting lounges and commercial area with connectivity to all platforms facilitated by escalators and lifts and importantly to Ernakulam South Metro Station through a Skywalk.
  • This meticulously designed multi-level building will help in segregation of operation related administrative activities from the passenger movement.
  • Two concourses are proposed o­n the western side. This will provide access to all platforms with lifts and escalators and will also have direct connectivity with Ernakulam South Metro Railway Station.
  • Of the two proposed concourses, totalling 4753 sq.m, each o­ne is planned for segregation of arrival and departure passengers. This will facilitate hassle free movement as there will be complete segregation of incoming and outgoing passengers.

Eastern Side:

  • A separate 3-storey East Terminal Building (G+3 structure) is planned which will be equipped with a passenger booking facility, Railway Hospital, and various Railway Administrative offices.
  • Total of 14 numbers of Escalators and 22 numbers of lifts are to be provided in addition to the existing, as part of redevelopment.
  • It is proposed to construct Multi-Level Car Parking (MLCP), which will be a G+5 structure with EV charging facility. This spacious parking lot will offer parking facilities for 108 cars and 90 Two-wheelers.

Works-in-progress & executed so far:

The following works have been executed so far:

  • All the mandatory clearances taken from Forest Department, Greater Cochin Development Authority, Kochi Metro Rail Ltd, Kochi Corporation and other civic authorities.
  • To facilitate necessary construction works, shifting of Materials and facilities from the East Terminal building site has been completed.
  • Soil Exploration and topographical survey works have been completed as part of preliminary work for construction of various buildings.
  • Test Pile Concreting for service building, West Terminal, Skywalk and various railway offices has been completed. Further, the initial Pile Load Test has been completed for Multi-level Car Parking and office buildings.
  • Demolition of offices of SSE/Works and stores for facilitating the construction of Multi Level Car Parking.

The following works are in progress:

  • Demolition of staff quarters is in progress and alternate accommodation has been provided for residents.
  • The construction of a site office for Project Management Consultancy is in progress.
  • Southern Railway has accorded top priority for completion of all infrastructure projects and passenger amenities work.

Source: Southern Railway- Press Release | Images Credit: MoR