Thiruvananthapuram Central railway station

Thiruvananthapuram Central, or Trivandrum Central, (station code: TVC), is a major railway station that serves the city of Thiruvananthapuram (formerly Trivandrum), capital of Kerala state, India. It is the busiest railway station in Kerala and an important rail hub in Southern Railway. The building of the railway station is one of the iconic landmarks of Thiruvananthapuram. The station is located at the center of the city opposite Central bus station Thiruvananthapuram at Thampanoor.

Thiruvananthapuram Central
Indian Railways station
Thiruvananthapuram Central station's main building.
General information
Other namesTrivandrum Central
LocationThiruvananthapuram, Kerala
India
Coordinates8.4874°N 76.952°E / 8.4874; 76.952
Elevation6.740 metres (22.11 ft)
Owned byIndian Railways
Operated bySouthern Railways
Line(s)Kollam–Thiruvananthapuram trunk line
Thiruvananthapuram–Nagercoil–Kanyakumari line
Platforms5
Tracks16
ConnectionsBus interchange Airport interchange ferry/water interchange, Taxi stand, Pre-paid Auto service.
Construction
Structure typeStandard (on ground station)
ParkingAvailable
AccessibleDisabled access
Other information
StatusFunctioning
Station codeTVC
Zone(s) Southern Railway zone
Division(s) Thiruvananthapuram
History
Opened4 November 1931 (1931-11-04)
ElectrifiedYes
Passengers
2017–1940,908 per day
Annual passengers – 1,42,92,407[1]
Rank1 (in Kerala)
1 (in Thiruvananthapuram railway division)
Location
Thiruvananthapuram Central is located in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram Central
Thiruvananthapuram Central
Location within Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram Central is located in India
Thiruvananthapuram Central
Thiruvananthapuram Central
Thiruvananthapuram Central (India)
Interactive map

Thiruvananthapuram Central railway station is where many of the prominent long-distance trains depart from. Thiruvananthapuram is the first tier 2 city from the south along the longest train routes in India, the KanyakumariThiruvananthapuramDibrugarh Vivek Express route and the Kanyakumari–Thiruvananthapuram–Jammu TawiShri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Himsagar Express route. A second terminal (South Terminal) was opened in 2004 to handle passenger traffic and later a West Terminal in 2007. To reduce traffic, the Thiruvananthapuram Central railway station has 16 railway tracks[2]

History

The Madras–Quilon line was extended to the capital of the Princely State of Travancore, Thiruvananthapuram, and was opened on 4 January 1918. The line then terminated at Chackai, which was the trading centre of Thiruvananthapuram then. M. E. Watts, Dewan of the erstwhile Travancore, took the initiative to extend the railway line to the heart of the city. The terminus was shifted to its current location Thiruvananthapuram Central Thampanoor in 1931. The Thiruvananthapuram Central station building was built during the reign of Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, the Maharani of Travancore, and inaugurated on the 4 November 1931. No bricks were used for the construction of this station building; it was built completely with rock masonry.[3] Thiruvananthapuram was a branch line station but the Maharani built it at par with their counterparts in the major cities of India. The station was built to handle two departures per day in 1931 and had only one platform in the beginning. The platform with a single line continued till the 70s. The extended platform continued to receive and send trains as a metre-gauge line until gauge conversion. The platform could accommodate two trains at a time in that single-line platform.

Layout

This station has 5 platforms to handle long and short-distance trains. The Thiruvananthapuram railway station has two entrances. The main entrance is opposite Central bus station Thiruvananthapuram and the western entrance is on Power House road. The train care centre functions adjacent to the western side entrance. Nemom and Kochuveli railway stations are announced in the railway budget as satellite terminals to Thiruvananthapuram Central. Kochuveli satellite terminal has started functioning with trains originating from here. There is a proposal to add two more platforms once Nemom and Kochuveli stations are operational with terminal facilities.

Amenities

Thiruvananthapuram Central is well equipped with modern security gadgets, and is the first station in the state to install video surveillance. The Networked electronic surveillance system is installed in this Central Station by Railway Protection Force (RPF) for improving the security and for monitoring the movement of passengers arriving at the station.[4]

Future

It was announced in the railway budget to convert Thiruvananthapuram Central railway station to world-class standards. The foundation stone for the expansion and modernization of the station was laid by former Union Minister for Railways, Lalu Prasad in December 2006. Tenders have been invited for carrying out feasibility studies for this proposed project. More than 1,000 million (US$13 million) is needed for the first phase of this project.[5] A new complex of the railway station will be built with a built-up area of 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m2). All modern facilities including an office and commercial complex are planned here. The proposal to set up a passenger terminal at Nemom is announced in the rail budget and is yet to begin work. It is estimated that only a consortium would be able to take up the expansion project of Thiruvananthapuram Central, since the project is a massive one.[6] Feasibility study for Chennai–Bangalore–Thiruvananthapuram high-speed rail corridor ongoing and is being planned along with other few corridors in the country.

Landmark train services

Landmark train services that originates or terminates from Thiruvananthapuram Central are:

Train no Train name Remarks
12431 / 12432 Trivandrum Rajdhani Express
12507 / 12508 Aronai Express
  • Longest-running Superfast train
  • Least punctual long-distance train (average delay on a trip is about 10–12 hours)
  • Second-longest-running train in India after Vivek Express.
12625 / 12626 Kerala Express
12643 / 12644 Swarna Jayanti Express
20634 / 20633 Kasaragod Vande Bharat Express

Incidents

See also

References

  1. "Station Re-development Data – Trivandrum Central(TVC)". Central Railway Zone – Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  2. "Revised parking rates at railway stations come into effect". The New Indian Express. Thiruvananthapuram: Express Publications. 2 July 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
  3. Quilon – Thiruvananthapuram Central Metre Gauge Line. Irfca.org. Retrieved on 2011-11-10.
  4. Video surveillance system at Central. Hindu.com (2006-08-24). Retrieved on 2011-11-10.
  5. Rs.100 crores for modernization[Usurped!]. Hinduonnet.com (2006-11-08). Retrieved on 2011-11-10.
  6. Trivandrum Central to be made a world-class station. Hindu.com (2007-03-07). Retrieved on 2011-11-10.
  7. "Trains delayed as engine jumps signal". The Hindu. 30 June 2018.
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