Chennai Egmore–Kollam Junction Express

The Chennai Egmore–Kollam Junction Express (16101/16102, also known as the Quilon Mail) is a daily train that runs between Chennai Egmore and Kollam Junction railway station in India. It is the successor of 115 years old Quilon Mail, which ran once upon a time in Meter Gauge lines between Madras and Quilon.[1]

Kollam Express
Chennai Egmore–Kollam Junction Express at Kollam Junction railway station
Overview
Service typeMail/Express
StatusOperating
LocaleKerala & Tamil Nadu
First serviceNovember 26, 1904 (1904-11-26)
Re-introduced on March 4, 2019 (2019-03-04)
Current operator(s)Indian Railway
Route
StartChennai Egmore (MS)
Stops21
EndKollam Junction (QLN)
Distance travelled761 km (473 mi)
Service frequencyDaily
Train number(s)16101/16102
On-board services
Class(es)AC 3 tier, Sleeper 3 tier, General Unreserved
Seating arrangementsYes
Sleeping arrangementsCouchette cars
Catering facilitiesNo
Observation facilitiesLarge windows
Technical
Rolling stockWDM-3D or WDM-3A twins/WDG-3A in QLN⇋TPJ section WAP-4 or WAP-7 in TPJ⇋MS section
Track gauge5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm)
Indian broad gauge
Route map

History

Opened on 1 June 1904, the Quilon-Madras rail line was the first line in Travancore. Its official gauge conversion started in 1998 and completed in 2018. On 31 March 2018, the entire Kollam–Sengottai line was opened for passenger train service.[2][3] The first passenger train was the Tambaram-Kollam-Tambaram special train (06027) that earned Rs 3.15 lakh by carrying 879 passengers against a capacity of 712.[4] The line provides a shorter route to Thiruvananthapuram via Kollam. Other routes include: Coimbatore and Pollachi to Palakkad, from Madurai via Kanyakumari.[5]

On 4 March 2019, railway started daily service between Kollam Junction and Chennai Egmore by extending Tambaram-Kollam tri-weekly special train to Chennai Egmore and increased the frequency as a daily service. The service was speeded-up by 35 minutes and the number of intermediate stops were reduced to 21 from 25(Tiruttangal, Pamba Kovil Shandy, Bhagavathipuram, Auvaneeswaram). The daily express train service between Chennai Egmore and Kollam Junction via Punalur, Rajapalayam and Madurai Junction was one of the oldest routes in South India. The service was first flagged off by Travancore Maharajah Mulam Thirunal Rama Varma in 1904 as Quilon-Madras Mail. The service was diverted through Virudhunagar and Manamadurai in 1996 due to gauge conversion works in Virudhunagar-Madurai stretch. Later, the service discontinued in 2000 for gauge conversion works.[6]

Route

It runs along the British-made historic Quilon-Madras rail route and other chord lines including Kollam–Sengottai which is the shortest existing rail route from Chennai to Kollam via Chengalpattu, Dindigul, Trichy, Madurai, Srivilliputtur, Tenkasi and Punalur.

Chennai Egmore→Tambaram →Chengalpattu Junction →Villupuram Junction →Vriddhachalam Junction →Tiruchchirappalli Junction →Dindigul Junction →Madurai Junction →Virudunagar Junction →Sivakasi →Srivilliputtur →Rajapalayam →Sankarankovil →Kadayanallur →Tenkasi Junction →Sengottai →Aryankavu →Thenmala →Edamann →Punalur →Avaneeswaram →Kottarakara →Kundara →Kollam Junction[7]

Traction

As the route is partly electrified, an Arakkonam WAP 4 Or Royapuram based WAP7 hauls the train till Tiruchirappalli Junction handing over to a Diesel-based GOC WDG-3A which powers the train for the remainder of the journey.

Coach Composition

The train has 14 bogies comprising two A/C three-tier, Eight sleeper class, Two unreserved general coaches and 2 Luggage Rakes.[lower-alpha 1]

Loco 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
SLRGENS1S2S3S4S5S6S7S8B1B2GENSLR
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See also

Notes
  1. The coach composition is subject to change.

References
  1. "Royal Mail back on track as new line connects Chennai to Kollam". India Today. 9 March 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  2. "Sengottai-Kollam railway line reopens after eight years". The New Indian Express. 1 April 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  3. "Special trains announced between Tambaram and Kollam". Times of India. 30 March 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  4. "First train from Chennai on Punalur line has commuters ready to roll". Times of India. 1 April 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  5. "BioTesting Europe officially announced by EBF". Biometric Technology Today. 15 (6): 5. June 2007. doi:10.1016/s0969-4765(08)70031-6. ISSN 0969-4765.
  6. "After 19 years, Chennai-Kollam regular train service to resume from Monday". The New Indian Express. 3 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  7. "After 19 years, Chennai-Kollam regular train service to resume from Monday". The New Indian Express. 3 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.

Sources
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