Rail coach restaurant to add a new attraction near Mattancherry Halt station

A railway coach being refurbished into a restaurant near the Mattancherry Halt railway station on Willingdon Island in Kochi. | Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT

With passenger train services to the Cochin Harbour Terminus station having stopped many years ago, the Railways are readying an air-conditioned ‘rail coach restaurant’ (RCR) near Mattancherry Halt station en route by refurbishing a train coach.

The facility is part of efforts to enhance passenger amenities and make use of railway assets. The Mattancherry Halt station, which holds heritage value, was chosen considering its proximity to Mattancherry and Fort Kochi, which attract tens of thousands of foreign and domestic tourists each year. The refurbishing work on the AC rail coach restaurant is expected to be completed this month, after which the coach and the renovated space in front of it will be thrown open to guests. The area surrounding the RCR will also be developed and landscaped to provide guests with a lawn-dining space, railway sources said.