Old Railway Station to be renovated.

There seems to be light at the end of the tunnel for the Old Railway Station (formerly Ernakulam Railway goods yard), with Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu expected to lay the foundation stone in the coming week to renovate the station that was abandoned over three decades ago.

The station, located behind the High Court of Kerala, is expected to be developed as a hub for MEMU and other suburban trains. “We will get the confirmation on the Minister’s itinerary on Monday, though he is expected to be here on May 15 or 16,” said Prakash Bhutani, Thiruvananthapuram Divisional Railway Manager.

Clearing encroachers from the premises was a major issue and this had to be sorted out by the Kochi Corporation. The Railway had already allotted funds to relay the damaged tracks and to install signals in the station and also at the Harbour Terminus Station on Willingdon Island. Renovation of the station building could be taken up once these were ready, he said.

Reacting to this, Mayor Soumini Jain said the civic agency had included rehabilitation of the people who had built houses on Railway land in the list of beneficiaries under the Prime Minister’s Aawaz Yojna slum development programme. They would be rehabilitated once there was confirmation from the Centre, she said.

THE HINDU