Diesel Loco Shed, Ernakulam
WDP-4D |
Diesel Loco Shed, Ernakulam (Code:ERSX) is a motive power depot performing locomotive maintenance and repair facility for diesel locomotives of the Indian Railways, located at Ernakulam Junction (ERS) of the Southern Railway zone in the city of Kochi, Kerala. It is one of the four diesel loco sheds of the Southern Railway, the others being at Tondiarpet (TNP) at Chennai, Erode (ED) and Golden Rock (GOC) at Trichy and the only locomotive shed in Kerala and the southernmost loco shed in India. Although it is in Kerala, its locomotives were mainly used mostly in Goa and Maharashtra, and very rarely near the shed for passenger trains.
History
Steam locomotive sheds used to exist at Kollam Junction (QLN) and Shoranur Junction (SRR) until the late 1970s.[1] After Southern Railway set a deadline to eliminate all steam locomotive operations by 1985, a push was given towards establishing diesel as the primary motive power, and the Ernakulam Diesel locomotive shed was established in the year 1981[2] to meet these ends and the needs of exponentially increasing rail traffic on the new continuous broad-gauge lines from Trivandrum to Mangalore and Palakkad with the completion of gauge conversion of the Ernakulam – Kottayam – Kayamkulam line. The steam sheds at SRR and QLN were subsequently decommissioned.
Initially, the shed handed only
Operations
Like all locomotive sheds, ERS does regular maintenance, overhaul and repair including painting and washing of locomotives. It not only attends to locomotives housed at ERS but to ones coming in from other sheds as well. It has four pit lines for loco repair.
Locomotives of Ernakulam DLS along with Erode and Golden Rock DLS were the regular links for all trains running through Kerala until around the year 2000 when widespread electrification of railway lines started in Kerala. Until then it handled prestigious trains like the double-headed
Despite all the electrification across the country, ERS locomotives still used to take trains as far as Gujarat, Bikaner and in the Shornur–Nilambur line of Kerala. The
Livery and markings
Indian Railways allows diesel loco sheds to paint their locomotives in their own unique liveries. Ernakulam's locomotives have their current livery scheme as painted in orange with a wide cream band around the middle, with orange lines on the top and bottom, to match with the erstwhile Rajdhani livery. The livery was introduced to match that of the Trivandrum Rajdhani when it was introduced sometime in 1997 as ERS considered the Rajdhani its most prestigious link. The cream bar and the orange line taper downwards at both ends of the locomotive to create a V-shaped design. This orange–cream–orange color scheme gives the locomotives a cheerful and pleasant look. One locomotive, WDM-3A #16666 was for a short time painted in an experimental light green–cream–light green scheme. Originally, the livery scheme of the Ernakulam shed was yellow at the top and spinach-green at the bottom.
Closure controversy
In October 2013, Southern Railways submitted a proposal to the railway board to shut down the Ernakulam DLS and convert it into an electric loco shed. Employees at the loco shed, later joined in by the public and people's representatives protested against this decision, alleging a plan to move the shed to Mangalore, demanding the ELS should be established without closing the DLS as it was the only major railway establishment in Kerala. After protests got much popular support, Southern Railway backed down from its move to close the shed.Then the Indian Railways opened new electric & diesel loco shed at Ernakulam in 2023 may 5.[6][7]
Electrification of Shed
Electrification work at Ernakulam Diesel Shed started on 21 January 2021.Work completed in November 2021 and E loco Trial completed on 31 December 2021. Erode WAP-1 #22008 was used For E loco trial run. From 22 Jan 2022 onwards, it has been converted into an electric loco shed and all diesel locos are shifted to Golden Rock Diesel Loco Shed in 2023(December 30).[8][9]
Locomotives
| SN | Locomotives | HP | Quantity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | WDM-3A
|
3100 | 15 |
| 2. | WDG-3A
|
11 | |
| 3. | WDM-3D
|
3300 | 8 |
| 4. | WAG-5
|
3850 | 5 |
| 5. | WDG-4 | 4500 | 24 |
| Total locomotives active as of April 2024[10][11] | 63 | ||
See also
- Electric Loco Shed, Arakkonam
- Electric Loco Shed, Erode
- Electric Loco Shed, Royapuram
- Diesel Loco Shed, Erode
- Diesel Loco Shed, Golden Rock
- Diesel Loco Shed, Tondiarpet
References
- ^ "[IRFCA] Indian Railways FAQ: Steam Locomotive Sheds in the 1970s". IRFCA. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
- ^ "Ernakulam Diesel Loco Shed" (PDF). indianrailways.gov.in. Indian Railways. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
- ^ "[IRFCA] Indian Railways Locomotive Roster-Ernakulam (ERS)-WDS-6 36012 Show". IRFCA. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
- ^ "june holding" (PDF).
- ^ "Ernakulam Diesel Loco Shed Railway Station Forum/Discussion – Railway Enquiry".
- ^ "Railway staff protest move to close down diesel loco shed at Ernakulam – RailNews Media India Ltd". www.railnews.co.in. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
- ^ "Diesel loco shed likely to be closed". The Hindu. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
- ^ "Ernakulam electric loco shed WILL be operational within Jan 10 2025". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ "In a touch-and-go, Ernakulam gets green light for electric loco shed". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ "Railway Website Mechanical Department". Retrieved 16 May 2020.
- ^ "IRFCA".
External links
