Cochin Harbour Terminus: Difference between revisions
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==History== |
==History== |
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The station became operational in 1943 with the Cochin-Shornur passenger.This train had almost the same schedule till it skipped the station,with a service each in the morning and evening.A train to Chennai(Madras), leaving Cochin in the afternoon was introduced. |
The station became operational in 1943 with the Cochin-Shornur passenger.This train had almost the same schedule till it skipped the station,with a service each in the morning and evening.A train to Chennai(Madras), leaving Cochin in the afternoon was introduced.Later the train to Ooty(Udyogamandal)Tea Garden express started.The train had link to Tiruchchirappalli.The number of trains starting from Cochin Harbour Terminus increased. Many trains were diverted from Cochin Harbour Terminus to other stations in the course of time.The important trains diverted are: |
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Revision as of 02:17, 8 June 2011
Cochin Harbour Terminus | |
---|---|
Indian Railway Station | |
General information | |
Location | Willingdon Island, Kochi, Kerala, India |
Owned by | Indian Railways |
Other information | |
Fare zone | Southern Railway |
Cochin Harbour Terminus (CHTS) is one of the railway stations in the city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. It is located on the Willingdon Island. The Cochin Harbour Terminus is the principal station providing rail connectivity to the southern segment of the Port of Kochi located on the Willingdon Island. (Catering to the northern segment of the port located on Vallarpadam, is a separate rail-route and an exclusive container station). And hence it mainly handles goods transport in and out of the Kochi Port.
History
The station became operational in 1943 with the Cochin-Shornur passenger.This train had almost the same schedule till it skipped the station,with a service each in the morning and evening.A train to Chennai(Madras), leaving Cochin in the afternoon was introduced.Later the train to Ooty(Udyogamandal)Tea Garden express started.The train had link to Tiruchchirappalli.The number of trains starting from Cochin Harbour Terminus increased. Many trains were diverted from Cochin Harbour Terminus to other stations in the course of time.The important trains diverted are:
Old Train | Current Route |
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Cochin Harbour Terminus-Shornur Junction passenger | Ernakulam Junction-Shornur Junction passenger |
Cochin Harbour Terminus-Trichy Tea Garden Express | Ernakulam-Nagore Express |
Cochin Harbour Terminus-Nizammudin Mangala Lakshadweep Express | Ernakulam-Nizammudin Mangala Lakshadweep Express |
Cochin Harbour Terminus-Hyderabad Sabari Express | Trivandrum-Hyderabad Sabari Express |
Cochin Harbour Terminus-Bombay Netravati Express | Trivandrum-LTT Netravati Express |
Cochin Harbour Terminus-Dadar Express | Discontinued |
Cochin Harbour Terminus-Rajkot Express | Ernakulam-Hapa Express |
Cochin Harbour Terminus-Patna Express | Ernakulam-Patna Express |
Cochin Harbour Terminus-GKP Raptisagar express | Trivandrum-GKP Raptisagar express |
Cochin Harbour Terminus-Indore express | Trivandrum-Indore express |
Cochin Harbour Terminus-Bilaspur express | Trivandrum-Bilaspur express |
Cochin Harbour Terminus-Howrah express | Trivandrum-Howrah express |
Cochin Harbour Terminus-Varanasi Express | Ernakulam-Rajendra Nagar express |
Cochin Harbour Terminus-Bangalore Island Express | Kanyakumari-Bangalore Island Express |
Location
Cochin harbour terminus is located on the Bristow Road in the Willingdon Island, Kochi. The station is an easy way to access the Wellington island in Kochi,which is difficult to reach especially for those outside the city.
Importance
Third Railway Station in Kochi
Once the passenger services from Cochin Harbour Terminus is revived after the completion of the new Venduruthy bridge,it would serve as the third railway station in Kochi city.The already existing railway stations, Ernakulam Junction(south) and Ernakulam Town(North),face a severe lack of space and facilities.Two pairs of new Multiple Electric Mainline Unit(MEMU) services from Kochi were announced in Railway budget 2009-'10 and 2010-'11.Currently about 12 pairs of local passenger trains operate in and out of Kochi.The Indian Railways plan to replace them with Multiple Electric Mainline Unit(MEMU) services in future.But due to lack of a Multiple Electric Mainline Unit(MEMU) maintainance shed in Kochi it is been delayed.The amble space available at Cochin Harbour Terminus could be made use to build the Multiple Electric Mainline Unit(MEMU) maintainance shed in Kochi.The station could be upgraded to provide facilities to start long haul express trains from Kochi.The station building is a rare master piece of architecture and it really adds to the antique features of the city of Cochin.
Handling Bulk Cargo at Cochin Port
The bulk cargo handling facilities at Cochin port remain inadequate.Cochin port has port side rail sidings that is suitable to handle bulk cargo.But due to inadequate facilities there has been a decrease in the bulk cargo,especially coal, handled at the port.The main reason is the lack of electrification in the Ernakulam Junction-Cochin Harbour Terminus section due to height restrictions imposed by the navy.The line pass very near to the naval airport at Kochi.The navy has permitted a height of only 3.6m while atleast 6.4m is needed for the structures related to electrification.Once the rail sidings are revived and the lines are electrified,then there would be considerable increase in the revenue from Cochin port.
Closeness to Mattancherry Wharf
Cochin Harbour Terminus is very closely located to Mattancherry Wharf(Q1- Q4)of the Cochin Port.Passenger and tourist ships moor at Mattancherry Wharf.It is due to this fact that Mangala Lakshadweep Express(12618/12617) used to start from Cochin Harbour Terminus to provide connection to passenger ships from Cochin port to Lakshadweep.Now with tourist ships frequently berthing at Cochin port,Cochin Harbour Terminus could be developed as a boarding point for tourist trains like Bharath Thirth.The numerous 5-star hotels near the station add to the advantages.
Rail Side Container Terminal Cochin Harbour Terminus(CHTS)
Rail Side Container Terminal,Cochin Harbour Terminus , of the Container Corporation of India was commissioned in December,1990.Spread over a total area of 4.20 acres, the terminal has modern facilities to offer a wide range of logistics service to the customers. The terminal is open for both EXIM and Domestic traffic, dealt through Rail and Road.The total paved area is 10,854 Sq. Mt.It has a rail siding that can handle upto 40 wagons.Modern equipments like reach stacker(70 tons) and sling crane are available here.
Container Rail Services from Rail Side Container Terminal Cochin Harbour Terminus(CHTS) | ||
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Source | Destination | Frequency |
Cochin Harbour Terminus(CHTS) | ICD Whitefield,Bangalore(WFD) | Weekly |
Cochin Harbour Terminus(CHTS) | Milavittan,Tuticurin(MVN) | Daily |
Cochin Harbour Terminus(CHTS) | ICD Irugur,Coimbatore(IGU) | On Demand |
- Modifying the railway line so as give direct access to the station from Alappuzha side bypassing Ernakulam junction station.This would facilitate the commencement of passenger trains towards Alappuzha,without having the trains to change direction at Ernakulam junction.Thus a considerable ease could be brought at Ernakulam junction by diverting a section of the passenger traffic to Cochin Harbour terminus.
- Construct two additional platforms
- Extend existing platforms
- Reinstate the public announcement system.
- Extending the trains like(0216)Madgaon expresss(Mon)(2522)Raptisagar Express(Fri),2977)Marusagar Express,(6338)Okha Express,(6303/6304)Vachinad express,(2617/2618)Mangala Lakshadweep Express,(2678/2677)Bangalore Express,(6866/6865)Nagore Express,(6305/6306)Ernakulam-Kannur Intercity Express,(342/341/345/346)Kottayam passenger,(352/355)Kollam passenger,(648/332/337/338)Alappuzha passenger,(647/648/649/650)Shornur passenger,(302/301/305)Guruvayur passenger,(343/344)Kayamkulam passenger(via Kottayam),(334/336/339)Kayamkulam passenger (via Alappuzha),(356/357)Ernakulam-Kollam MEMU (To be introduced soon)
- The budget gave green signal for the Ernakulam-Kollam MEMU services.The vast space and infrastructure at the station could be utilized to setup the MEMU shed in Kochi.
- The station has now two platforms. 270 m of the total length of more than 300 m has roofing. This would be sufficient to hold at least 12 coaches. Thus there is not much investment involved in renovating the station building.
- The station could be made the base for MEMU services in Kerala.
- The suburban railway system could be experimented in Kochi.
- Redirecting some long trains from Thiruvananthapuram Central to Cochin Harbour Terminus would help to reduce the congestion in the rail network.
- It could be a halt for the exhibition trains like Azadi express, Red Ribbon Express, Science express etc.
- The Southern railway can experiment the Ro-Ro model of transport as in Konkan railway from Cochin Harbour Terminus
References
- Indian railways
- Cochin Harbour Terminus by Jimmy Jose at IRFCA
- Container Corporation of India Ltd. (CONCOR) Official Website
External links
- Indian railways
- Cochin Harbour Terminus by Jimmy Jose at IRFCA
- CONCOR Rail Side Container Terminal Cochin Harbour Terminus(CHTS) Official Website