Varkala Sivagiri railway station

This article is about the railway station. For the Varkala, see Sivagiri, Kerala.

Varkala Sivagiri
Regional rail and Light rail station
File:Varkala renew.jpg Varkala Railway Station front view
General information
Location	Varkala, Trivandrum, Kerala India
Coordinates	8.741°N 76.723°E / 8.741; 76.723
Elevation	57m
Owned by	Indian Railways
Operated by	Southern Railway
Line(s)	Kollam-Thiruvananthapuram line
Platforms	3
Tracks	4
Connections	Varkala Bus station, Taxi stand
Construction
Structure type	Standard (On ground Station)
Parking	Yes
Accessible
Other information
Status	Functioning
Station code	VAK
Zone(s)	Southern Railway zone
Division(s)	Thiruvananthapuram
History
Opened	1918 (1918)
Rebuilt	2013
Electrified	25 kV AC 50 Hz
Previous names	Varkala Railway Station
Passengers
2016-17	3,776,071 (2016-17 FY)
Route map Kollam Junction–Thiruvananthapuram Central trunk line km to Ernakulam to Sengottai 0 Kollam Junction Chinnakada overpass SP Office overpass 4.6 Eravipuram 8.9 Mayyanad Paravur Lake 12.4 Paravur Paravur town overpass Edava Lake 17.0 Kappil H. 19.9 Edava 23.7 Varkala Maithanam underpass 30.1 Akathumuri 32.8 Kadakkavoor Kadakkavoor overpass 35.9 Chirayinkeezhu 40.0 Perunguzhi 43.2 Murukkampuzha 47.2 Kaniyapuram Kazhakuttam overpass 51.3 Kazhakuttam 57.5 Kochuveli Chakka overpass 62.1 Pettah Kizhakkekotta overpass 64.6 Thiruvananthapuram Central to Nagercoil Junction

Varkala railway station also known as Varkala Sivagiri railway station, station code VAK, is a major railway station (NSG 4 Category) serving the district of Thiruvananthapuram of Kerala starting on 1918. It is situated in the municipality of Varkala in Thiruvananthapuram district. It falls in the Thiruvananthapuram railway division of the Southern Railway zone of the Indian Railways. It is on Kollam-Thiruvananthapuram railway line and is the largest railway station in Thiruvananthapuram district, after the Thiruvananthapuram Central station. In 2016-17 FY about 37lakh passengers were passed through this station and make a profit of more than 10cr. In close proximity to the station is Varkala Municipal Bus Station. It serves the people from Varkala,Kurakkanni, Sivagiri Kappil, Edava,Attingal,Kilimanoor,Kallambalam and suburbs of Varkala City

File:Varkala renew.jpg

A view of the station

Name of the Station

The station name used to be 'Varkala' till 2005. It was renamed "Varkala Sivagiri" after the samadhi of Sri Narayana Guru,situated in Varkala in the year 2005. Most of the trains are allowed temporary halt in this station during a week period of the famous "Sivagiri Theerthadanam" (Sivagiri Pilgrimage).

Significance

Varkala beach which is one of the popular tourist destination in kerala is at a distance of 3.1 km from the railway station.Sivagiri Mutt founded by the social reformer Sree Narayana Guru is situated at the top of the Sivagiri hill near Varkala.Janardana Swami Temple is a Vaishnavite shrine which is estimated to be 2000-year-old.

See also

• Thiruvananthapuram Central railway station
• Kappil Railway Station
• Kollam Junction railway station
• Paravur railway station
• Karunagappalli railway station
• Punalur
• Kazhakoottam railway station