Kochi: The Victorian-style giant clock at the Harbour Terminus railway station has been brought back to life. Railway technicians worked hard to infuse new life into the heritage clock just as the defunct station was readied for rail traffic recently.

The weight-driven, manually-run timepiece was installed in 1943. But when the railway station stopped functioning, the clock too stopped working. When the station was renovated, it was decided to have a new digital clock in its place.

The technicians from the telecommunications department who came to remove the clock fell for its charm, but its several parts had rusted and need to be made again. They decided to take up the challenge of fixing it. The team of technicians from the signals section, who included V M Jubair, N Vinod and Ram Meena, put forward the idea of reviving the clock. They began their work from March 2017 and the repair was carried out under the supervision of senior section engineer Lifelal John.

The technicians worked overtime, spending their off days and Sundays on repairing the antique clock. They needed a replacement for the pinion assembly inside the clock. As they could not find it in shops, Jubair and team built it on their own. They took three weeks to finish it, but the clock died within 15 minutes of fitting it. But they built it again, this time with much more care and precision and the second time they were successful. The clock started ticking atop the building once again. Since the beginning of this year, the clock has been alive and ticking.

The technicians were awarded for their work; a special recognition by the general manager of Southern Railways.