Activists up in arms against Railways’ neglect of heritage station

KOCHI: Even as a committee has been formed to study the feasibility of setting up a marshalling yard at Ponnurunni, various facilities like the heritage Harbour Terminus and the Old Railway station remain neglected. According to activists who have been trying for years to get the Railways to put the stations to use, the district needs to make use of the facilities already available. “We don’t understand why the Railways is reluctant in repairing these stations,” said K P Hariharakumar, general convener, Old Railway Station Vikasana Samithi.  

According to him, the renovation and development work of the Old Railway Station was halted midway. “Only the old sleepers have been replaced for `1.5 crore. This station is hardly 1.3km from the mainline and is located on a 42-acre property,” he said.  “There is a stay order from the National Green Tribunal since the station lies close to Mangalavanam. Why hasn’t the Railway done anything to get the stay vacated?” Hariharakumar asked.  

After the formation of Kerala Railway Development Corporation Ltd (KRDCL), the Old Railway Station featured 20th among the first projects that were prioritised, he stressed.  The Old Railway Station is not alone when it comes to being at the receiving end of Railways’ neglect. “The Harbour Terminus Railway station also doesn’t find a spot in their agenda when it comes to development,” he said. Till sometime back, various long-distance trains used to run from here.  

“Trains like the Bengaluru-Kanyakumari Express used to be operated from here. The service which had been stopped citing damages sustained by the Venduruthy bridge hasn’t been restarted even after the bridge was rebuilt,” said another member of the Samithi.   According to him, after the Samithi started a movement, the Harbour Terminus station was renovated for `8 crore.

The Railways had promised that services will be restored from the station before March 2017 and the station would be the country’s first green station. This was declared at a meeting by the former Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu. “In 2019, one train conducted service from the Harbour Terminus for eight days to Ernakulam Junction. Then the service was stopped citing poor occupancy. However, if the Railways had begun services to Shornur, Guruvayur and Kottayam, this wouldn’t have been a problem,” said Hariharakumar.