Rameswaram railway station lacks basic facilities

Attached to Southern Railway’s Madurai division, the more-than-a-century-old station has the distinction of operating one of the oldest trains—the Chennai —Rameswaram Express (formerly called Boat Mail) of the Indian Railways which completed 100 years in 2014.

But the station lacks basic toilet and drinking water facilities. Though Southern Railway announced a few years ago that Rameswaram station would be converted into a model station, nothing has been done till date. 

Station officials are themselves ignorant of such an announcement. Though a top railway official recently said that the railway station was very clean, the opposite is seen true by the tourists coming there daily. There is no proper drinking water facility and one can see tourists occasionally drinking water from the pipes meant for railway coaches. 

Station officials claimed that water was available on the platforms. Enquiries revealed that as the area lacked water, the station purchased water from private parties and loaded it into tanks and opened them only when trains halted at the station. 

The supply to taps is closed once the trains left. Stray dogs and cattle are aplenty in the station. Some mentally unsound persons are also sometimes seen loitering the platforms. 

Railway tracks are littered with cow dung and human excreta which could lead to health issues if not handled properly. 

Despite the fact that the station has four platforms, seven tracks and two pit lines and is the point of origin for eight express and four passenger trains, it is in a state of neglect often. 

In fact, the Rameswaram – Manduadih Express connects Tamil Nadu with UP while the Okha Eexpress connects the town with Gujarat. To prevent stray animals’ entry into the station premises is not possible as there is no compound wall.