Route map

Kollam–Sengottai Chord Line

The Kollam–Sengottai railway line (part of Kollam–
Virudanagar Chord line) (formerly known as Quilon–
Kollam–Sengottai railway line
Shencottah or Quilon–Chenkotta line) is a railway line in South (Part of Kollam–Virudanagar
India which connects Kollam Junction in Kerala state and Chord Line)
Sengottai (also spelled Shencottah, Shenkottai, Chengottai,
Chenkottai, Senkottai) in Tamil Nadu. The Quilon–Shencottah
railway line was the first railway line in the erstwhile
Travancore state and is more than a century old. The Kollam–
Sengottai section is part of the Kollam–Chennai metre-gauge
rail route commissioned by the British in 1904. The line has
been completely converted to broad gauge and is now fully
operational from Kollam Junction to Shengottai. Metre-gauge train passing through
Thirteen Arch railway bridge
Overview
Contents Status Active
History Owner Indian Railways
Timeline Locale Kerala
About the route Tamil Nadu
Notable landmarks on the route Termini Kollam Junction
Popular metre-gauge trains on the route Sengottai
Broad gauge conversion Stations 17
Kollam–Punalur section Website www.sr.indianrailways.gov
Punalur–Sengottai section .in (http://www.sr.indianrailw
Stations ays.gov.in)
See also Service
References Type Express train
Passenger train
Services 4 Express, 3 Passenger
History
Route 63[1]
number
The Kollam–Sengottai metre-gauge line was conceived and
implemented by Maharajah Uthram Thirunal of Travancore. It Operator(s) Southern Railway zone
was built jointly by South Indian Railway Company, Depot(s) Kollam
Travancore State and the Madras Presidency. After a survey in
Ernakulam
1888, work started in 1900 and was completed by 1902. The
Golden Rock
first goods train travelled on this route in 1902 while the first
passenger train began its run in 1904. Metre-gauge services History
were inaugurated on 1 July 1904 with the first passenger train Opened 26 November 1904
flagged off from Kollam by Maharajah Moolam Thirunal of
Travancore with a 21-gun salute. The railway line was Closed 2010
Reopened 9 June 2018
constructed by the British in the foothills of the Western Ghats Technical
to transport forest products, spices and cashews from Kollam to Line length 94.1 km (58.5 mi)
Chennai, their southern headquarters.
Number of 1
tracks
Timeline Track 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
1899 - Survey for Quilon–Madras rail link gauge
completed[3] Old gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 33⁄8 in)
1900 - Works for Kollam–Sengottai metre-gauge Loading 4,725 mm × 3,660 mm
railway line started to connect the city of Quilon with
gauge (15 ft 6.0 in × 12 ft 0.1 in)
Madras
(BG)[2]
1902 - Kollam–Sengottai Railway line works
completed Operating 31 km/h (19 mph)
1904 - On 1 June, His Highness Moolam Thirunal speed
Rama Varma of Travancore flagged off the first Highest 272 m (892 ft)
passenger train service on the Kollam–Sengottai
elevation
railway line at Kollam railway station
1998 - Gauge conversion of Kollam–Sengottai Route map
Railway line officially started
2007 - On 1 May, rail services on Kollam–Punalur
section withdrawn km
2010 - On 10 May, Kollam–Punalur broad-gauge to Trivandrum Central
section thrown open for services[4] 0 Kollam Junction
2018 - On 31 March, the entire Kollam–Sengottai line to Kayamkulam Junction
TVC limits
thrown open for passenger train services.[5][6][7] The MDU
first passenger train on the stretch was Tambaram– 6 Kilikollur
Kollam–Tambaram special train service (06027/28) 8 Chandanattop Halt
which completed the service by earning Rs 3.15 lakh 13 Kundara
as passenger ticket collection from its 879 15 Kundara East
passengers against a capacity of 712.[8] 19 Ezhukone
25 Kottarakara
About the route 30 Kuri
37 Auvaneeswarem
45 Punalur
The route was once a lifeline for the people of the southern
districts of Kerala state and the Sengottai–Virudhunagar belt of Kallada River
Tamil Nadu. It served to create a strong link especially among 55 Edamann
the trading community of these areas in the two States. British 77 Ottakkal
tea estates and coffee plantations thrived on the labour of 66 Thenmala
tribesman living in the Thenmala forests and workers from 13 arch bridge
Tamil Nadu. The railway line contributed much to the Achankoil River
development of a plantation economy in this area. The farmers 70 Kazhuthurutty
of the Shencottah-Virudhunagar belt depended on the trains to 77 Edapalayam
market their produce in south Travancore. Huge quantities of 75 New Aryankavu
vegetables, groceries and dairy products such as curd were 79 Aryankavu
brought into Kollam district from Tamil Nadu by trains that Kerala
Tamil Nadu
plied the route. The Palaruvi and Kazhuthurutti waterfalls and 87 Bhagavathipuram
the Thenmala eco-tourism centre are on the fringes of this line, 93 Sengottai
and the Courtallam waterfalls at the destination make this route 102 Tenkasi Junction
popular with nature lovers.[9] to Virudhunagar Junction
to Tirunelveli Junction
Notable landmarks on the route
13 Kannara Bridge

The 13 Kannara bridge or 13 Arch Bridge

(Pathimoonu kannara palam) is a 108–year–old
bridge at Kazhathuruthi. The bridge consists of
13 arches and is a major landmark on the
Kollam–Sengottai railway line as well as a
testimony to the architectural abilities of the
British. The bridge connects two hillocks and
stands on thirteen granite pillars each almost a
hundred feet tall. Sandwiched by the Kollam-
Thirumangalam National Highway on one side
and the River Kazhuthurutti on the other, the
View of 13 Kannara Bridge
bridge is 102.72 metres (337.0 ft) long and 5.18
metres (17.0 ft) tall.

Aryankavu–Puliyara (Kottavasal) tunnel

The Aryankavu tunnel links Aryankavu in Kerala with Bhagavathipuram in Tamil Nadu. The tunnel was
completed in 1903 and is 680 metres (2,230 ft) long. On both sides of the tunnel, the conch shell symbol of the
Travancore rulers has been imprinted.

Popular metre-gauge trains on the route

Train No:6105/6106 (earlier 105/106) Kollam–Chennai
Egmore Mail

This train was introduced in 1904 after the completion of the Quilon–
Sengottai–Virudhunagar metre-gauge line and was flagged off by the
then Maharaja of Travancore, Moolam Thirunal. The train was later
renamed the Quilon–Madras Mail. The train was extended to
Trivandrum in 1918 after completion of the Quilon–Trivandrum Rail line towards Kollam Junction
metre-gauge line. This train was one of the early metre gauge trains to near Kuri
have a First Class. The train was truncated at Quilon after the
Kollam–Trivandrum Central metre-gauge track was converted to
broad gauge in 1979. The train went through to Madurai Junction railway station via Manamadurai Junction
from 1996 when the Virudhunagar–Madurai line was converted to broad gauge. The train was discontinued in
June 2000. It was reintroduced in 2018 with the same old route after the gauge conversion of punalur to
sengottai railway line

Train No:6383/6384 Tirunelveli–Kollam Express

Train No:6361/6362 Kollam– Nagore(karaikal) Fast Passenger via Manamadurai,
tiruchirappalli and thanjavur.[10]
Sengottai–Kollam passenger

This passenger train was the main means of transport among office workers and students along this route.

Broad gauge conversion

The Punalur–Sengottai section is part of the 325-km Kollam–
Sengottai–Tenkasi–Tirunelveli–Tiruchendur gauge conversion project
and part of the Tenkasi–Virudhunagar trunk route to Chennai. The
gauge conversion of the Sengottai–Tiruchendur section has been
completed and is opened for traffic.

After the Gauge conversion of Kollam–Sengottai Section Sengottai

and Punalur Railway stations acts as a major terminal railway stations
for several express and passenger trains in this route.

Kollam–Punalur section

The Kollam Junction–Punalur metre-gauge railway line to broad-

gauge conversion works foundation stone was laid in 1998 at Punalur.
Services on the Punalur–Kollam metre-gauge section were withdrawn
on 1 May 2007, to facilitate the gauge conversion work. The gauge
conversion took almost 11 years to complete after the foundation
stone was laid. The 44 km line was converted to broad gauge and
inaugurated on 10 May 2010. Passenger train services connecting Punalur to Kollam, Madurai, Guruvayur,
Kanyakumari and Palakkad Junction are currently operational in this route.[1]

Punalur–Sengottai section

To facilitate the gauge conversion work on the Punalur–Sengottai section, train services on the section were
withdrawn in September 2010. The 49.2-km Punalur–Sengottai section gauge conversion works were
completed in December 2017 and the line was commissioned in March 2018. The inaugural Tambaram–
Kollam special train (06027) ran through the section on 31 March 2018. The inaugural TBM–QLN special
train was later extended to Chennai Egmore (MS) and then regularised w.e.f. 04.03.2019 where the inaugural
run of the regular daily express train was flagged off. The regular train is 115 years old and re-started after 19
years. The train MS<>QLN EXP has train numbers 16101 (MS–QLN)/16102 (QLN–MS). The inaugural
special run of the regular train had 06101 as the number and had a total of 14 coaches with 8 SL coaches & 2
3A coaches.

Stations
The railway stations in Kollam Junction–Sengottai railway line are

Kollam Junction Kuri Edapalayam

Kilikollur Avaneeswaram New Aryankavu
Chandanattop Punalur Aryankavu
Kundara Edaman Bhagavathipuram
Kundara East Ottakkal Sengottai
Ezhukone Thenmala
Kottarakara Kazhuthurutti Halt

See also
Tenkasi Junction
Tirunelveli Junction
Route map

References
1. "Passenger Train time Table-2013 - Punalur–Kollam–Punalur" (http://www.sr.indianrailways.go
v.in/uploads/files/1375165458070-Table%2023-85_Pages%20148%20to%20221_SRS.pdf)
(PDF). Indian Railways. Southern Railway zone. p. 54. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
2. J S Mundrey (2010). Railway Track Engineering (https://books.google.com/books?id=n6XrJJIx
QTEC&q=loading+gauge+india&pg=PA7) (Fourth ed.). New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill. p. 7.
ISBN 978-0-07-068012-8. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
3. "Kollam Municipal Corporation" (http://www.kollamcorporation.gov.in/transport). Retrieved
21 June 2017.
4. "Kollam-Sengottai train service likely from May" (http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kozhikod
e/Kollam-Sengottai-train-service-likely-from-May/article16916876.ece). The Hindu. Kozhikode.
21 December 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
5. "Sengottai-Kollam railway line reopens after eight years" (http://www.newindianexpress.com/st
ates/tamil-nadu/2018/apr/01/sengottai-kollam-railway-line-reopens-after-eight-years-1795456.h
tml). The New Indian Express. 1 April 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
6. "Chennai to Kollam train will resume after eight years" (http://www.newindianexpress.com/citie
s/chennai/2018/mar/30/chennai-to-kollam-train-will-resume-after-eight-years-1794626.html).
The New Indian Express. 31 March 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
7. "Special trains announced between Tambaram and Kollam" (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.co
m/city/madurai/special-trains-announced-between-tambaram-and-kollam/articleshow/6353847
5.cms). Times of India. 30 March 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
8. "First train from Chennai on Punalur line has commuters ready to roll" (https://timesofindia.india
times.com/city/chennai/first-train-from-chennai-on-punalur-line-has-commuters-ready-to-roll/arti
cleshow/63564490.cms). Times of India. 1 April 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
9. S. Binu, Raj (17 March 2010). "Whistling adieu" (http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/W
histling-adieu/article16573298.ece). The Hindu. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
10. "6362/Kollam Nagore Passenger (UnReserved) - Quilon to Nagore SR/Southern Zone -
Railway Enquiry" (https://indiarailinfo.com/train/-train-kollam-nagore-passenger-6362/6520/58/
6722). indiarailinfo.com. Retrieved 12 March 2021.

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