The growing clamour for ‘Kochi Central’ railway stn

Kochi: With the recent submission of detailed project report (DPR) to Southern Railways for a new spacious railway terminal at Ponnurunni marshalling yard, there is a growing demand for officially naming the upcoming station as ‘Kochi Central’.Citizen collectives like Kochi First sent formal memoranda to both Indian Railways and chief minister V D Satheesan to press for the name change.“Unlike most major Indian metropolises, Kochi lacks a flagship railway station bearing its official name. The present stations are named Ernakulam Jn (ERS), Ernakulam Town (ERN), and Aluva (AWY). They frequently cause confusion for domestic and international passengers unfamiliar with regional geography,” argued Richard Rajesh Kumar of Kochi First.The strategic metropolitan terminal will be located entirely within Kochi municipal corporation. “Naming the terminal ‘Kochi Central’ establishes a synergy with the city’s modern transit ecosystem, mirroring successful implementations like Kochi Metro, Kochi Water Metro, Cochin International Airport, and Cochin Port,” said Arjun P Bhaskar, a travel enthusiast.When passengers search for travel options nationwide via booking systems like IRCTC, ‘Kochi’ serves as the primary regional anchor. Officially naming the station ‘Kochi Central’ would eliminate ambiguities, optimise digital navigation and strengthen wayfinding.

“It’s a difficult process to rename an existing station like Ernakulam Junction, but relatively easy to name the new station, which is likely to emerge as the main railway station in the future,” Arjun added.“Just like Mumbai Central, Chennai Central or Bengaluru City, a ‘Kochi Central’ designation puts our city clearly on the national map,” the forum said.The proposed Rs 267-crore project, complete with multiple platforms, maintenance pit lines, and specialised facilities for Vande Bharat trains, promises to ease the congestion plaguing Ernakulam’s current stations.Meanwhile, MP Hibi Eden wrote to Southern Railway, requesting to retain at least six platforms at the proposed terminal amid reports of the railway construction department planning to limit the platforms to four.“The once-in-a-generation project must be planned with a long-term vision…Reducing the number of platforms at this stage will permanently restrict the terminal’s capacity and operational flexibility…,” he said in his letter to general manager, requesting the latter’s intervention.The terminal must have main line platforms, otherwise every thorough train originating or terminating there will require an additional stoppage at Ernakulam Town, defeating the very objective of building a new terminal to decongest the Ernakulam railway network, the MP pointed out.