Kollam railway station redevelopment to be completed by December 2027
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N.K. Premachandran, MP, and Railway officials during a site inspection on Monday.
The redevelopment works on the Kollam railway station have received a revised completion deadline of December 2027 and a key highlight of the upgraded infrastructure is the implementation of an advanced Building Management System (BMS), modelled on international airports.
“This computerised, IT-enabled system will centrally monitor and regulate passenger-related services, automatically adjusting station lighting, announcements, and other amenities based on real-time crowd density,” said N.K. Premachandran, Kollam MP, following a high-level review meeting and site inspection with Southern Railway construction chief Om Prakash, on Monday (September 14, 2026).
Significant expansions are under way across the station’s infrastructure. The platform roof area will be expanded from the existing 5,735 square metres to 16,296 square metres, entirely replacing old roofing with a uniform and attractive design. Similarly, the tiled and concrete platforms will be replaced with 16,296 square metres of granite-paved surfaces. The south terminal building, originally designed at 3,732 square meters, is being rebuilt to a vastly expanded area of 24,433 square metres, with half of its space allocated for commercial leasing.
To improve passenger movement and accessibility, the project includes a 12-metre-wide foot overbridge spanning 823 square metres, alongside a 36-metre-wide air concourse covering 4,780 square metres. “Although current plans for the air concourse do not include air conditioning, a formal request will be raised to incorporate climate control features given the region’s intense heat. Furthermore, passenger amenities will see a massive boost as the station scales up from its current 2 lifts and 2 escalators to a total of 21 lifts and 12 escalators,” said Mr. Premachandran.
Parking infrastructure is also undergoing a major overhaul. While the South Terminal can currently accommodate 255 two-wheelers and 185 four-wheelers, the upcoming north terminal will provide expanded parking for 890 two-wheelers and 190 four-wheelers. Construction on several ancillary units, including the gang room, SSC work building, service building, multi-level parking, and parcel building, has already been completed and they have been handed over to the division. The foot overbridge is slated for completion by November 1, 2026. For passenger safety, the station will feature a robust surveillance network utilising 76 CCTV cameras on the premises.
Foundation work for the south terminal required heavier structural reinforcement than initially planned and following soil testing, engineers executed 800 deep pilings, each measuring 32 metres in depth, to ensure stability.
Addressing construction constraints, railway officials said that while the contracting agency requested a 7-hour daily block on train traffic to accelerate work, such a long suspension is impractical given Kollam’s heavy rail traffic. Consequently, train operations are being regulated for a 4-hour window at night. Railway authorities have confirmed that, barring unforeseen hurdles, all redevelopment works will be successfully wrapped up by December 2027. Additional project requirements will be formally presented during a high-level meeting with the Southern Railway General Manager in Chennai on September 18, 2026.
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