Ernakulam Junction railway station

For the 1971 Malayalam film, see Ernakulam Junction (film).
Ernakulam Junction
എറണാകുളം ജംഗ്ഷന്
एर्णाकुलम जंक्शन
Indian Railway Station
Location Kochi, Kerala, India
Coordinates 9°58′08″N 76°17′30″E / 9.96885°N 76.29160°E / 9.96885; 76.29160Coordinates: 9°58′08″N 76°17′30″E / 9.96885°N 76.29160°E / 9.96885; 76.29160
Owned by Indian Railways
Line(s)

Ernakulam-Kottayam-Kayamkulam(east), Ernakulam-Shoranur(north),

Ernakulam-Alappuzha-Kayamkulam(south), Ernakulam Junction-Cochin Harbour Terminus(south-west)
Platforms 6
Tracks 12
Construction
Parking Available
Bicycle facilities available
Other information
Station code ERS
Fare zone Southern Railway
History
Opened 1932
Rebuilt 1946
Electrified Yes
Traffic
Passengers 29,283 per day[1]

Ernakulam Junction (also known as Ernakulam South, code: ERS) is the largest railway station in the city of Kochi. The station has six platforms and two terminals (the Main entry and the Eastern entry). It is a junction, joining lines going in four different directions namely: north towards Shornur, south towards Alappuzha, south-west towards Willingdon Island and east towards Kottayam. This station has 6 platforms to handle long distance trains and local trains.

The station is operated by the Southern Railway zone of the Indian Railways and comes under the Thiruvananthapuram railway division. It is one of the major railway stations in Kerala with trains to any part of India and also one of the A1 graded stations in the Southern Railway. The Station also has a Train Care Centre in its premises.

Another major railway station in downtown Kochi is the Ernakulam Town Railway Station. Besides this there are numerous railway stations in the Greater Cochin Region. Because of the loop structure of the tracks, trains going from the Thrissur side to the Kottayam side via Ernakulam Junction have to reverse their directions, whereas those going to the Alappuzha do not face this problem.

Ernakulam Junction is one of the most important stations in India. It is the largest of the 3 major stations serving the city other being Ernakulam north and Aluva railway station. It is the second busiest in terms of no of trains after aluva. Even though there have been many proposals to convert Ernakulam junction into a world class station, no development activity is happening at present.

Ernakulam Junction was the first railway station in Kerala to have an escalator. It was installed on 9 September 2013.[2]

Diesel Loco Shed

Ernakulam Diesel Loco Shed is the only loco shed in the state of Kerala. The Diesel Loco Shed was set up in 1982 and handles around 56 diesel locomotives a month and employees 373 personnel. It is the southernmost locoshed in Indian Railways. It is mainly concentrating the maintenance of locos WDM-2, WDM-3A, WDS-6 and WDM-7 locos.

References

  1. ↑ "Station Re-development Data - Ernakulam Junction(ERS)". Central Railway Zone - Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  2. ↑ "'Willingdon island to be developed as grain storage hub'". The New Indian Express. 10 September 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
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