THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as the Railways moves ahead with the development of the Kochuveli station – now rebranded as Thiruvananthapuram North – into a satellite hub for Thiruvananthapuram Central, travellers continue to be bothered by inadequate bus connectivity in the area.
The station serves several daily and weekly trains, bringing in thousands of passengers including Technopark employees, government workers, and patients visiting the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) and the medical college. However, the nearest road with regular bus services – NH bypass – is over a kilometre away from the station’s eastern side, creating accessibility challenges.
“The Railways has major plans to upgrade the station to ease the congestion at the Central station. There is no doubt that the number of trains using the Kochuveli terminal is going to increase. Hence, there is an urgent need to have regular bus services connecting the railway station,” said Liyons J, secretary of passenger advocacy group Friends on Rails (FoR).
At least 10 long-distance trains are used by short-distance travellers too. With the KSRTC offering only a few bus services, most passengers have to depend on autorickshaws.
Travellers also complain about autorickshaw drivers fleecing passengers.
“There is no pre-paid service available and passengers are taken for a ride by the autorickshaw drivers. They usually agree to a ride only after detailed questioning. Many are not interested in the trip to the nearest bus stop, at the World Market on the bypass,” said Gayathri, an FoR representative.
Tired of the daily haggling with autorickshaw drivers, FoR representatives met Transport Minister K B Ganesh Kumar in his office, demanding to improve bus connectivity. They said the minister agreed to the demand of starting more bus services to and from the station. Demand is also rising for a circular service connecting Chakkai, Airport, All Saints College, and Karikkakam, among other parts of the city.
The Railways has undertaken a `156-crore project for the comprehensive development of the Thiruvananthapuram area. This includes the development of Thiruvananthapuram’s satellite terminals at Kochuveli and Nemom.
The proposal was announced when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Thiruvananthapuram Central station to inaugurate the Vande Bharat train service last year.