Ernakulam Junction railway station

Ernakulam Junction എറണാകുളം ജംഗ്ഷൻ एरणाकुलम जंक्शन
Express train and Passenger train station
General information
Other names	Ernakulam South എറണാകുളം സൗത്ത്
Location	Kochi, Kerala, India
Coordinates	9.96885°N 76.29160°E / 9.96885; 76.29160
Owned by	Indian Railways
Operated by	Southern Railway zone
Line(s)	Ernakulam–Kottayam–Kayamkulam line, Ernakulam-Shoranur Ernakulam-Alappuzha-Kayamkulam Ernakulam Junction-Cochin Harbour Terminus
Platforms	6
Tracks	12
Construction
Parking	Available
Bicycle facilities	available
Accessible
Other information
Station code	ERS
Fare zone	Southern Railway zone
Classification	A1 Class
History
Opened	1932 (1932)
Rebuilt	1946 (1946)
Electrified	2000 (2000)
Passengers
2017-18	28,170 per day Annual passenger - 1,02,82,088
Rank	2 (in Kerala) 2 (in Trivandrum division)

Ernakulam Junction railway station (also known as Ernakulam South, code: ERS) is the biggest railway station in the city of Kochi in Kerala, India. Controlling 376 train routes at a time, it is the busiest railway junction station in South India. At ₹158 crore (equivalent to ₹227 crore or US$27 million in 2023), it is the second largest in terms of passenger revenues in Kerala and the fifth largest in Southern Railway. It is an A1 classified station operated by the Southern Railway zone of the Indian Railways and comes under the Thiruvananthapuram railway division.

History

Ernakulam Jn was first opened as Ernakulam South in 1932 when the meter gauge line then terminating at Ernakulam (Old) Terminus (ERG) was extended from Pachalam to the Cochin Harbor Terminus (CHTS) Station on the Willingdon Island for proximity to the Kochi Port. Ernakulam North, Perumanur (later closed), Mattanchery Halt and CHTS were the newly opened stations on the route. In 1946 the station was converted into broad gauge as part of the Shoranur-CHTS line, linking it directly to the rest of India via the Mangalore-Jolarpet mainline at Shoranur Jn. In 1956 the Ernakulam-Kottayam meter gauge line was opened and further extended to Kollam in 1958, joining to the Kollam-Trivandrum line, connecting Ernakulam with Trivandrum for the first time.

Since the opening of the Kottayam line made it a junction, Ernakulam South was renamed Ernakulam Junction, and Ernakulam North was renamed Ernakulam Town. This was what made Ernakulam Jn rise to prominence, which was until then just a small wayside station en route to the much busier Cochin Harbour Terminus station. Until 1979 when the Kottayam line was converted into broad gauge, ERS had both broad and meter gauge tracks. As the coastal line to Alappuzha was opened in 1989, Ernakulam Jn rose to the status of the most premier railway station in central Kerala.

Layout

Ernakulam Jn is a railway junction with lines branching off from it to four different directions:

• North towards Chennai/Bangalore(via Palakkad) and Mumbai(via Shoranur - Kozhikode)
• South towards Thiruvananthapuram via Alappuzha-Kayamkulam
• South-west towards Willingdon Island and CHTS
• East towards Thiruvananthapuram via Kottayam-Kayamkulam

The station has six platforms to handle long distance trains and local trains and two entrances (the Main entry and the Eastern entry). Its A1 classification is the highest a station can achieve on Indian Railways. It does have all amenities expected out of a major junction including a paid air-conditioned lounge with free WiFi, a library, rest room, children's play areas etc. However, the station lacks the spread-out roominess and large built-up area of similarly large stations. Ernakulam Junction was the first railway station in Kerala to have an escalator. It was installed on 9 September 2013. Currently all its platforms are served by escalators.

DEMU Service

DEMU service will start from Cochin Harbour Terminus(CHTS) to eranakulam junction(ERS) from september 26,2018 for one month on experimental basis. It will halt at Mattancheri Halt on both direction.

Demu Service
Source	Destination	Arrival	DEparture
Cochin Harbour Terminus(CHTS)	Eranakulam Jn(ERS)	08:00	08:40
Eranakulam Jn(ERS)	Cochin Harbour Terminus(CHTS)	09:00	09:40
Cochin Harbour Terminus(CHTS)	Eranakulam Jn(ERS)	17:00	17:40
Eranakulam Jn(ERS)	Cochin Harbour Terminus(CHTS)	18:20	19:00

Diesel Loco Shed

Main article: Diesel Loco Shed, Ernakulam

Ernakulam Diesel Loco Shed is one of the four diesel loco sheds of the southern railway and the only loco shed of any kind in the state of Kerala, and is the southernmost loco shed of the Indian Railways. The Diesel Loco Shed was set up in 1981 and handles around 56 diesel locomotives a month and employees 373 personnel. It undertakes repair, housing and maintenance of WDM2, WDM3A, WDG3A and WDS-6 and locos.

External links

• Southern Railway zone
• Ernakulam Junction railway station at the India Rail Info