The one-and-a-half-decade wait for a railway station near Kochi's international airport is finally ending. Southern Railway Manager RN Singh recently visited the proposed site and issued directions for preparing the cost estimate. According to the revised estimate, constructing a new railway station at the location will cost Rs. 19 crore. Authorities plan to invite tenders and complete the project within a year once the revised blueprint gets approved. The idea of a railway station at Nedumbassery had existed since 2010, when a foundation stone was laid during E. Ahmed’s tenure as the Union Minister. The project, however, never took off. Chalakkudy MP Benny Behnan recently raised this issue in Parliament, bringing it back into focus.

The updated blueprint proposes a new location for the station near the solar farm under Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL). The railways already own land on both sides of the track that passes through this area. According to the revised plan, the platform will start just after the Railway Over Bridge on the Athani Junction-Airport Road. Two platforms, each capable of accommodating trains with up to 24 coaches, will be constructed. Once completed, the station will serve as service halt points, including the two Vande Bharat and other inter-city trains. Passengers will exit the platform and go onto Chovvara-Neduvannur-Airport Road.

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From the proposed station, travellers can reach the airport by taking a 1.5-kilometre road that passes beneath the Railway Over Bridge. Cochin International Airport Limited is also willing to operate electric buses connecting the new railway station and the airport. The proposed name for the station is `Cochin Airport.' Commenting on the initiative, Union Minister George Kurien said the project was set in motion following an intervention by the Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav. “Ashwini Vaishnav pointed out the delay in the railway station project while travelling with him on a special train to Thrissur. It was his suggestion to consider the new location for the station,” Kurian explained.

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