Railbus from Edappally Railway Station to Vallarpadam Container Terminal

With the increase in population tremendously there is an increase in demand for public transportation. There exists an 8.5 km broad gauge line from Edappally railway station to Vallarpadam Goods Terminal which is presently underutilized (utilization is less than 10% only) and Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited wants to explore the feasibility of providing passenger Rail Bus connectivity to this Vallarpadam station. This project proposes to run a 2-3 car railbus from Edappally Railway station to Vallarpadam Terminal over the underutilized rail connectivity to International Container Transhipment Terminal, Kochi. Study of routes covered by bus transport is carried out. Based on the location of stations and the density of commuters at that station, the study is carried out. Two intermediate halt stations are also proposed at Chittoor road and Mulavukad and they are well placed to accommodate the traffic needs. The principal benefit of the project would be that it provides a faster and cheaper transport between Edappally and Vallarpadam without entering the busy Ernakulam city limits.