Gap bridging: Railways to increase platform height of key stations

Kochi: In the wake of repeated complaints from passengers over steep climbs, particularly when boarding modern trains like Vande Bharat Express, Southern Railway initiated measures to upgrade platforms across 10 stations in the division, including Ernakulam Junction.Thiruvananthapuram division has floated e-tenders for the infrastructure upgrades worth over Rs 1.74 crore.TOI had earlier highlighted how the lack of height of platforms undermines the premium travel experience promised by modern rail services in its report published on May 6.Ernakulam Junction (South), one of state’s busiest transit hubs, is the focal point of development. While Platform 1 currently sits at a standard height, passengers have long struggled with lower levels on other platforms. The gap poses a steep physical barrier for senior citizens, passengers with disabilities and anyone hauling heavy luggage. Because premium trains only halt for a few minutes, the height mismatch has turned boarding and alighting into a frantic, stressful rush.“The work of increasing the height and expansion of platforms at Ernakulam Jn and six nearby stations, Ettumanoor, Mulanthuruthy, Kaduthuruthy, Kanjiramattam, Chottanikkara Road, and Kumaranelloor, have been initiated. A separate project worth Rs 36.7 lakh will fund identical platform-raising works at Eravipuram, Tovala, and Melapalayam stations,” a senior railway official said.In addition to height corrections, Southern Railway is addressing a severe capacity bottleneck at Ernakulam South. Currently, only two platforms at the station are long enough to handle standard 24-coach trains.A project worth Rs 9.5 lakh was issued to lengthen Platform 2 and shift the existing star siding (a sidetrack used for parking trains). This expansion will allow the station to handle high-capacity 24-car Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) and Integral Coach Factory (ICF) trains, drastically improving traffic flow and reducing delays.“The work will be executed in phases to minimise disruption. As fixing platforms requires shutting down active tracks, executing all upgrades simultaneously would cause massive train delays and cancellations. Instead, engineers will tackle Platforms 2 and 3 at Ernakulam first before moving systematically across the remaining sections,” the official added.Meanwhile, the railways is set to develop the 110-acre Ernakulam marshalling yard, aiming to transform the underutilised asset into a full-fledged coaching terminal. The same will result in increased rail traffic through the Ernakulam region.