Varkala Sivagiri railway station

8°44′28″N 76°43′23″E / 8.741°N 76.723°E / 8.741; 76.723Elevation58mOwned byGovernment of IndiaOperated byIndian RailwaysLine(s)Kollam–Thiruvananthapuram trunk linePlatforms3Tracks5Connections

• Varkala municipal bus station (opposite)
• Taxi stand
• Varkala Helipad(2km)
• National Waterway 3(Under renovation)
• Trivandrum International Airport(40km)

ConstructionStructure typeStandard (on-ground station)ParkingYesBicycle facilitiesYesAccessibleOther informationStatusFunctioningStation codeVAK Zone(s) Southern Railway zone Division(s) ThiruvananthapuramClassificationNSG-4^[1]HistoryOpened1918; 106 years ago (1918)Rebuilt1974; 50 years ago (1974)ElectrifiedYes, 25 kV AC 50 HzPrevious namesVarkala railway station till 2005; 19 years ago (2005)Passengers2018–1911,427/day^[2]
Annual passengers – 41,70,860Rank2nd in Trivandrum district, 14th in Kerala Services

Preceding station	Indian Railways			Following station
Edavai towards ?		Southern Railway zone Kollam–Thiruvananthapuram trunk line		Akathumuri towards ?

Route map

Kollam Junction–Thiruvananthapuram Central trunk line Legend km to Ernakulam to Sengottai 0 Kollam Junction Chinnakada overpass SP Office overpass 4.6 Eravipuram 8.9 Mayyanad Paravur Lake 12.4 Paravur Paravur town overpass Edava Lake 17.0 Kappil H. 19.9 Edava 23.7 Varkala Maithanam underpass 30.1 Akathumuri 32.8 Kadakkavoor Kadakkavoor overpass 35.9 Chirayinkeezhu 40.0 Perunguzhi 43.2 Murukkampuzha 47.2 Kaniyapuram Kazhakuttam overpass 51.3 Kazhakuttam 57.5 Kochuveli Chakka overpass 62.1 Pettah Kizhakkekotta overpass 64.6 Thiruvananthapuram Central to Nagercoil Junction This diagram: view talk edit

Location

Varkala Sivagiri railway station (station code: VAK) is an NSG–4 category Indian railway station in Thiruvananthapuram railway division of Southern Railway zone.^[3] is a major railway station in Kerala serving the town of Varkala in Thiruvananthapuram. It is the second-busiest railway station in the state capital district Trivandrum in terms of passenger movement and 14th busiest in Kerala State. Around 54 trains halts in this station which handled more than 17,730 passengers daily with 3 platforms. It is on Kollam–Thiruvananthapuram trunk line. Station is well connected to major metropolitan & tier 2 cities like Trivandrum, Hyderabad, Kochi, Delhi, Bangalore, Mangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Vijayawada, Kolkata, Goa etc.

Traffic

In 2018–19 FY about 41lakh passengers were passed through this station and make a profit of 11.12 cr. Varkala is the second-busiest railway station after Trivandrum Central. In close proximity to the station is Varkala Municipal Bus Station. It serves the people from northern part of entire Trivandrum district and southern part of Kollam district.

History

The metre-gauge railway line passing through the Varkala town was completed in 1917 and opened for traffic on 1 January 1918. The line was then up to Chakkai near Trivandrum. On 4 November 1931 it was extended to Trivandrum Central. Later, considering the steady increase in passenger traffic the metre-gauge was converted into broad-gauge which was inaugurated by the Prime Minister on 13 September 1977· There are two approach roads from Kallambalam and Parippally to Varkala railway station from the National Highway 66.

Name of the station

The station name used to be 'Varkala' till 2005. It was renamed "Varkala Sivagiri" after the samadhi of Sri Narayana Guru, situated in Varkala in the year 2005. Most of the trains are allowed temporary halt at this station during a week period of the famous "Sivagiri Theerthadanam" (Sivagiri Pilgrimage).

Significance

Varkala is a major commercial and industrial town in the district and also Varkala is the nearest major railway station for Attingal, Kilimanoor, Kallambalam, Chirayinkeezhu, Alamcode towns. Varkala Beach which is one of the popular tourist destination in India is at a distance of 3.1 km (1.9 mi) from the railway station. Sivagiri Mutt founded by the social reformer Sree Narayana Guru is situated at the top of the Sivagiri hill in Varkala. Janardana Swami Temple is a Vaishnavite shrine which is estimated to be 2000 years old. Kappil Beach & Backwaters situated 8 km (5.0 mi) from Varkala is major tourist destination in Varkala.

Annual passenger earnings of Varkala railway station

Passenger Earnings

Year	Earnings (in crores)	Variation
2015–16	₹9.4484 crore (US$1.2 million)	NA
2016–17	₹9.8191 crore (US$1.2 million)	₹0.3707 crore (US$46,000)[4]
2017–18	₹10.4254 crore (US$1.3 million)	₹0.6063 crore (US$76,000)[5]
2018–19	₹11.1201 crore (US$1.4 million)	₹0.6947 crore (US$87,000)[6]
2019–20	₹11.5095 crore (US$1.4 million)	₹0.3894 crore (US$49,000)[7]
2020-21	₹2.0588 crore (US$260,000)	₹9.4507 crore (US$1.2 million)[8]
2021-22	₹7.4429 crore (US$930,000)	₹5.3841 crore (US$670,000)
2022-23	₹16.6935 crore (US$2.1 million)	₹9.2506 crore (US$1.2 million)[9]

See also

• Thiruvananthapuram Central railway station
• Kappil railway station
• Kollam Junction railway station
• Paravur railway station
• Karunagappalli railway station
• Punalur
• Kazhakuttam railway station

References

External links

• Media related to Varkala Sivagiri railway station at Wikimedia Commons