Kollam: Union Minister of State for Tourism, Shri K J Alphons inaugurated the second entry of Kollam Railway Station on 03.03.2019. Furthermore, an arch for the second entry was inaugurated by Shri N K Premachandran, MP.
Kollam Jn. railway station is one of the oldest railway stations in Kerala State and the second largest railway station in Kerala in terms of area. Kollam railway station caters to over 23,000 passengers per day with earnings of Rs.18 lakhs. The railway line between Tirunelveli – Kollam was built jointly by South India Railway, Travancore State and the Madras Presidency in 1904. Later, it was extended to Thiruvananthapuram in 1918.
Over the years, Kollam railway station was provided with many passenger amenities and improvements to cater to the needs of the passengers. Now, a new addition to the Kollam railway station is the newly developed second entry from the National Highway 744. At present, the entry to the station is from NH 544. This second entry has more proximity to the city compared to the present entry and shall mainly cater to passengers from the eastern area of Kollam. The second entry point will have ticket booking counters, large circulating and parking area. The overall cost of construction is Rs.5.86 crores. The booking counters at the second entry will function from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. in two shifts. To provide an aesthetic look to the second entry, compound wall and entry gate with an illuminated board are constructed at a cost of Rs.20 lakhs through MPLAD fund of Hon’ble MP Shri N.K. Premachandran.
Other passenger amenity works such as the provision of escalators and lifts at a cost of Rs.2.2 crores and modification of booking and reservation officers are underway. In addition to this, other proposed works include upgradation of carriage water facility at a cost of Rs.2.07 crores and augmentation of water supply at a cost of Rs.2.85 crores.
K Somaprasad, MP; M Noushad, MLA; P Jayakumar, Additional Divisional Railway Manager, Thiruvananthapuram Division; and other railway officials and staff participated in the function.
Kerala Rail News