Varkala Sivagiri railway station

Varkala Railway Station, station code VAK, is a major railway station (NSG 4 B Category) in Kerala serving the town of Varkala in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala, India started on 1904. The station serves as the northern gateway to the capital Trivandrum. Varkala Railway Station is the second busiest after Trivandrum Central and 3rd most revenue generating railway station in the district and 8th busiest in Thiruvananthapuram railway division. It is situated in the municipality of Varkala which is 40 km (25 mi) from Trivandrum City, 15 km (9.3 mi) from Attingal town and 33 km (21 mi) from Kollam City. Free WiFi of railway is available in Varkala railway station. It falls in the Thiruvananthapuram railway division of the Southern Railway zone of the Indian Railways. It is on Kollam-Thiruvananthapuram railway line. Station is well connected to major metropolitan & tier 2 cities like Trivandrum, Hyderabad, Kochi, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Goa etc.

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This article is about the railway station. For the Varkala, see Sivagiri, Kerala.

Varkala
Regional rail and Light rail station
Varkala Railway Station in 2011
Location	SH63, Varkala, Trivandrum, Kerala India
Coordinates	8.741°N 76.723°E / 8.741; 76.723
Elevation	58m
Owned by	Government of India
Operated by	Indian Railways
Line(s)	Kollam-Thiruvananthapuram line
Platforms	3
Tracks	5
Connections	Varkala Municipal Bus Station(opposite) Taxi stand Varkala Helipad(2km) National Waterway 3(Under renovation) Trivandrum International Airport(40km)
Construction
Structure type	Standard (On ground Station)
Parking	Yes
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Disabled access
Other information
Status	Functioning
Station code	VAK
Zone(s)	Southern Railway zone
Division(s)	Thiruvananthapuram
Classification	NSG-4[1]
History
Opened	1904 (1904)
Rebuilt	1974 (1974)
Electrified	Yes, 25 kV AC 50 Hz
Previous names	Varkala Railway Station till 2005 (2005)
Traffic
Passengers (2018-19)	11,427/day[2] Annual Passengers - 41,70,860 (7.65%)
Rank	2nd in Trivandrum district, 8th in Trivandrum division
Services
Preceding station   Indian Railways   Following station Edavai Southern Railway zone Kollam Junction – Thiruvananthapuram Central branch line Akathumuri
Route map km to Kayamkulam Junction to Sengottai via Punalur Kallumthazham Overpass Chemmanmukku Overpass 0 Kollam Junction Chinnakada Overpass FCI Siding SP Office Overpass 4 Eravipuram Arattukulam 9 Mayyanad Paravur Lake 12 Paravur Paravur town Overpass Kilimukkam Lake 17 Kappil 20 Edavai 24 Varkala Varkala Underpass 30 Akathumuri Anchuthengu Kayal 33 Kadakkavoor Vamanapuram River 36 Chirayinkeezhu 40 Perunguzhi Kadinamkulam Lake 43 Murukkampuzha 47 Kaniyapuram 51 Kazhakoottam 54 Veli Veli Lake 58 Kochuveli 62 Thiruvananthapuram Pettah 65 Trivandrum Central Overpass to Nagercoil Junction
Location
Varkala Location in Kerala Show map of Kerala Varkala Location in India Show map of India

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 Railway Station. In close proximity to the station is Varkala Municipal Bus Station. It serves the people from Varkala Taluk and Chirayinkeezhu Taluk.

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 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 near 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$1.3 million)	NA
2016-17	₹9.8191 crore (US$1.4 million)	₹0.3707 crore (US$52,000)[3]
2017-18	₹10.4254 crore (US$1.5 million)	₹0.6063 crore (US$85,000)[4]
2018-19	₹11.1201 crore (US$1.6 million)	₹0.6947 crore (US$97,000)[5]

See also

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

References

1. "Annual originating passengers and earnings for the year 2018-19 - Thiruvananthapuram Division" (PDF). Indian Railways. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
2. "Annual originating passengers and earnings for the year 2018-19 - Thiruvananthapuram Division" (PDF). Indian Railways. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
3. "Stations Profile 2017 - Thiruvananthapuram Division" (PDF). Indian Railways. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
4. "Annual originating passengers and earnings for the year 2017-18 - Thiruvananthapuram Division" (PDF). Indian Railways. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
5. "Annual originating passengers and earnings for the year 2018-19 - Thiruvananthapuram Division" (PDF). Indian Railways. Retrieved 11 July 2019.

External links