Varkala Sivagiri railway station, station code VAK, is a major railway station (NSG 4 Category) in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

serving the town of

Varkala Varkala, is a major coastal municipality situated in the northern suburb of Trivandrum, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the headquarters of Varkala Taluk and important government institutions such as the taluk office, court ...

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

. It is the second-busiest railway station in the state capital district

Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populatio ...

in terms of passenger movement and 14th busiest in

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 Kollam–Thiruvananthapuram trunk line is a railway line in Southern Railway zone connecting the cities of Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram in the state of Kerala, India. The line was opened on 4 January 1918 as the extension of Madras–Quilon ...

. Station is well connected to major metropolitan & tier 2 cities like

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

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Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

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Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

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 . 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

is a major commercial and industrial town in the district and also Varkala is the nearest major railway station for

Attingal Attingal is a municipality in Thiruvananthapuram metropolitan area in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala state, India. It was the location of the Attingal kingdom, under Travancore. It is the headquarters of Chirayinkeezhu Taluk, and the ...

, Kilimanoor, Kallambalam, Chirayinkeezhu, Alamcode towns. Varkala Beach which is one of the popular tourist destination in India is at a distance of from the railway station.

Sivagiri Mutt Sivagiri is an area in Varkala Municipality of Thiruvananthapuram district in Kerala. It is a pilgrimage centre of Varkala Town where the tomb, or samadhi, of Narayana Guru, Sree Narayana Guru is situated. It is a place where Guru built t ...

founded by the social reformer Sree Narayana Guru is situated at the top of the Sivagiri hill in Varkala.

Janardana Swami Temple Janardana Swami Temple is a 2000+ year-old temple situated in the municipality of Varkala city in Trivandrum. It is also known as Varkala Temple. Janardana Swami is a form of Lord Vishnu. It is a very well known temple in Kerala about 10.9&nbs ...

is a Vaishnavite shrine which is estimated to be 2000 years old. Kappil Beach & Backwaters situated from Varkala is major tourist destination in Varkala.

Annual passenger earnings of Varkala railway station

References

External links

* {{Thiruvananthapuram railway division, state=expanded Railway stations in Thiruvananthapuram district Thiruvananthapuram railway division