Nagercoil–Tirunelveli line

The Nagercoil–Tirunelveli line connects the cities of Tirunelveli and Nagercoil in the state of Tamilnadu in Southern Railway zone. Thiruvananthapuram–Nagercoil–Kanyakumari line and Tirunelveli–Nagercoil construction projects were inaugurated by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on 6 September 1972. The maximum speed of trains running between Tirunelveli to Nagercoil is 100 km per hour.[3]

Nagercoil–Tirunelveli railway line
Main Building of the Nagercoil Junction station
Overview
Native name	நாகர்கோவில்-திருநெல்வேலி ரயில் பாதை
Type	Regional rail Light rail
System	Electrified
Status	Operational
Locale	Tamilnadu
Termini	Nagercoil Junction (NCJ) Tirunelveli Junction (TEN)
Stations	9
Services	1
Website	Southern Railway
Operation
Opened	1981 (1981)[1]
Owner	Southern Railway zone
Operator(s)	Thiruvananthapuram Madurai
Rolling stock	WAP-1, WAP-4 electric locos; WDS-6, WDM-2, WDM-3A, WDP-4 and WDG-3A, WDG-4
Technical
Line length	73 kilometres (45 mi)
Number of tracks	1
Track gauge	1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
Loading gauge	4,725 mm × 3,660 mm (15 ft 6.0 in × 12 ft 0.1 in) (BG)[2]
Electrification	Overhead catenary
Operating speed	100 kilometres per hour (62 mph)[3]
Route map km to Vanchi Maniyachchi Junction 0 Tirunelveli Junction to Tenkasi Junction to Tiruchendur MDU TVC limits 4 Melappalaiyam 16 Sengulam 30 Nanguneri 36 Dalapathy Samudram 43 Valliyur 51 North Panakudi 61 Aralvaymoli 65 Tovalai 74 0 Nagercoil Junction 4 Suchindram 16 Kanyakumari 79 Nagercoil Town 85 Viranialur 92 Eraniel 101 Palliyadi 107 Kulitthurai 110 Kuzhuthurai West Tamil Nadu Kerala 117 Parassala 121 Dhanuvachapuram 126 Amaravila Halt 128 Neyyattinkara 132 Balaramapuram 137 Nemom 145 Thiruvananthapuram Central to Kollam Junction

Foundation Stone

History and timeline

• 1955-56:- Survey for this line was sanctioned.[4]
• 1964-65:- The survey completed.[5].
• 6 September 1972:- The inauguration of the construction project by the then Prime minister Mrs.Indira Gandhi. [6]
• 1981:- The line have been opened to traffic.[1].

Stations

There are 9 railway stations along the stretch. The major stations are Nagercoil Junction, Aralvaymoli, Valliyur, Nanguneri and Tirunelveli Junction. The details of the railway stations with annual earnings in 2016-2017[7] is shown below.

Sl. No	Station Name	Category[8] (based on Earnings 2011-12)	Earnings during 2016-17 (in INR)	Total no. of passengers booked during 2016-17	Pass per day	Daily average earnings during 2016-17 (in INR)
1	Nagercoil Junction (NCJ)	NSG 3/A	464332656	2380085	6521	1272144
2	Tovalai (THX)	HG 3/F	215745	16509	45	591
3	Aralvaymoli (AAY)	NSG 6/E	3572159	44755	123	9787
4	North Panakudi (NPK)	NSG 6/E	1479006	18464	51	4052
5	Valliyur (VLY)	NSG 5/D	73942307	264688	725	202582
6	Nanguneri (NNN)	NSG 5/D	15122696	104161	285	41432
7	Sengulam (SGLM)	NSG 6/E	96070	1819	5	263
8	Melappalaiyam (MP)	HG 3/F	191390	11225	31	524
9	Tirunelveli Junction (TEN)	NSG 3/A	854317786	4734404	12971	2340597

**Note:-

1. Stations with blue background - Stations generating Rs. 2,00,00,000(Rs. 2 Crore) or more in a financial year.
2. The criteria for categorization of stations have now been revised to include footfalls at the station. The stations have been clubbed into three groups -- Non-suburban (NS), Suburban (S) and Halt (H). These groups have further been put in grades ranging from NSG 1-6, SG 1-3 and HG 1-3, respectively.[9]

Electrification & track doubling

The section is fully electrified. Track doubling work is in progress[10] and expected to finished in 2022.[11]

Rail Traffic

Around 45 trains running through this line including super-fast, express and passenger services. More trains are expected to be introduced along the route with the completion of track doubling.

References

1. "Railway Budget speech 1982-83" (PDF). www.indianrailways.gov.in. Government of India, Ministry of Railways. 23 February 1982.
2. J S Mundrey (2010). Railway Track Engineering (Fourth ed.). New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-07-068012-8. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
3. "The Trivandrum division has also decided to increase the speed of trains". The Hindu. Nagercoil. 4 December 2013.
4. "Railway Budget speech 1956-57" (PDF). www.indianrailways.gov.in. Government of India, Ministry of Railways. 23 February 1956.
5. "Railway Budget speech 1965-66" (PDF). www.indianrailways.gov.in. Government of India, Ministry of Railways. 18 February 1965.
6. "Railway Budget speech 1973-74" (PDF). www.indianrailways.gov.in. Government of India, Ministry of Railways. 20 February 1973.
7. "Southern Railway - Annual originating passengers & earnings for the year 2016-17" (PDF). Retrieved 17 April 2018.
8. "Minister of Railways directs to re-categorize railway stations taking into account earnings, passenger footfall, strategic importance". pib.nic.in.
9. "Railways revise station categories to improve services". The Economic Times.
10. "Thiruvananthapuram-Kanyakumari doubling to begin on Jan 23". The Hindu. Thiruvananthapuram. 12 January 2018.
11. "Railways begin doubling work". The Hindu. Thiruvananthapuram. 24 January 2018.

External links