God’s Own Carriage? Indian Railways Looking At 4.67-KM Tourism Circuit For Those Exploring Kerala 

Indian Railways plans to launch a tourism circuit which will connect the Ernakulam Junction railway station with the scenic island of Vallarpadam through the 4.62 KM long Vembanad bridge, India’s seventh largest bridge over water.

A proposal has already been submitted by the railway officials in Ernakulam to divisional authorities in Thiruvananthapuram and is said to be in the planning stage. The project is expected to connect the three modes of transport- road, rail and water as per the proposal.

The tourists will be taken to Fort Kochi by road from Vallarpadam where they can explore architectural marvels and heritage sites in Kochi and its surrounding areas. Lunch will be served at Willingdon island where a Railway Museum will be set up with British-era exhibits and photographs relating to Indian Railways as part of the project. Later, the tourists would be taken to more islands like Bolghatty in Vembanad lake with the trip ending in Marine Drive.

Railways will have to construct a facility outside the Vallarpadam Container Terminal for the tourists as outsiders are not allowed into the terminal. The cost of the trip would be Rs 700 per person which includes lunch, tea and entry tickets into tourist spots. The prices have been fixed after consulting boat operators, travellers and hoteliers.

Railway authorities feel that the project could garner good revenue after observing that the bridge could be used for tourism purposes as it was not entirely used to transfer goods. "We expected more rakes to travel on the bridge carrying goods to Vallarpadam terminal. But only one or two rakes reach the container shipment terminal biweekly. We can utilise the rakes, which are idle for tourism purposes,", said a railway official, as reported by TOI.

Railways are alternately considering the possibility of starting the journey from Cochin Harbour Terminus in Willingdon island, where many five star hotels are located.