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ERNAKULAM TERMINUS RAILWAY STATION: A Place that Could Have Been

NANDABALA (Ist Year, Miranda House)

The Ernakulam Terminus Railway Station is very different from any railway station in India- There are no busy people struggling with luggage, no stores selling chai, comics and snacks with some life advice sprinkled on them, no one to say tearful goodbyes and no one to look for their dear ones in the approaching trains. 

The station now remains as a massive brick structure, with vines and trees leaning onto the station to lie down. The silence is only broken by the sighs of the wind. The bricks, now approaching senility, whisper tales of their glorious past to each other. And all of these sights remain as a surprising contrast to what surrounds this place; it stands in the middle of the city, adjacent to the high court of Kochi, which bustles with life, people and vehicles throughout the day. This station is relatively unknown, even to those who live in Kochi.

The station was constructed under the leadership of Rama Varma XV, the then Maharaja of Cochin. And the first train reached the station on July 16, 1902. Passenger train services took place until the 1960s, after which it fell into disuse. The disuse was due to the commissioning of Ernakulam Town and Ernakulam Junction Railway Stations, which are known as North and South Railway stations locally. Later, in 2001, the Ernakulam terminus railway station was converted into a goods shed, but that too never took wings.

This station provided its services to the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. The station also played host to Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore, Lord Irwin and many other important personalities. And the rumour states that the King had to sell the gold caparisons (nettippattams) of the elephants that belonged to the Poornathrayeesha Temple to finance the constructions of the railway station.

This station still lives in the memories, tales and experiences of the people who were fortunate enough to see it during its heyday. It still talks about what it could have been- and that is definitely more than an unknown, old railway station that is withering slowly.

SOURCES AND CITATIONS

1. “Ernakulam Old Railway Station Turns 118.” The New Indian Express, 22 July 2020, http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/kochi/2020/jul/22/ernakulam-old-railway-station-turns-118-2172925.html.

2. Vinay, Arun. “Historic Old Railway Station in Kochi Faces Shocking Neglect | Ernakulam | Destinations | Travel | Manorama English.” OnManorama, 28 May 2019, http://www.onmanorama.com/travel/travel-news/2019/05/28/historic-old-railway-station-kochi-neglect-abandoned.html.

3. Correspondent, Special. “Heritage Railway Stations, Prime Land Remain Underutilised.” The Hindu, 17 July 2020, http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Kochi/heritage-railway-stations-prime-land-remain-underutilised/article32119174.ece.