Kollam–Thiruvananthapuram trunk line

Kollam–Thiruvananthapuram trunk line is a railway line in Southern Railway zone connecting the cities of Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram in the state of Kerala, India. The line was opened on 4 January 1918 as the extension of Madras–Quilon line during metre gauge era.

Kollam–Thiruvananthapuram trunk line
View of the rail line passing through Kollam Junction
Overview
Type	Regional rail
System	Electrified
Status	Operational
Locale	Kerala
Termini	Kollam Junction (QLN) Thiruvananthapuram Central (TVC)
Stations	18
Services	1
Website	Southern Railway
Operation
Opened	4 January 1918 (1918-01-04)
Owner	Southern Railway zone
Operator(s)	Thiruvananthapuram
Character	At–grade
Depot(s)	Kollam
Rolling stock	WAP-1, WAP-4 electric locos; WAP-7 WDS-6, WDM-2, WDM-3A, WDP-4 and WDG-3A, WDG-4
Events
Extension up to TVC	1931 (1931)
Electrification	2006 (2006)[1]
Technical
Line length	65 kilometres (40 mi)
Number of tracks	2
Track gauge	1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
Old gauge	1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ^3⁄8 in)
Loading gauge	4,725 mm × 3,660 mm (15 ft 6.0 in × 12 ft 0.1 in) (BG)[2]
Electrification	25 kV AC OHLE
Operating speed	110 kilometres per hour (68 mph)
Route map km to Kayamkulam Junction to Sengottai via Punalur Kallumthazham Overpass Chemmanmukku Overpass 0 Kollam Junction Chinnakada Overpass FCI Siding SP Office Overpass 4 Eravipuram Arattukulam 9 Mayyanad Paravur Lake 12 Paravur Paravur town Overpass Kilimukkam Lake 17 Kappil 20 Edavai 24 Varkala Varkala Underpass 30 Akathumuri Anchuthengu Kayal 33 Kadakkavoor Vamanapuram River 36 Chirayinkeezhu 40 Perunguzhi Kadinamkulam Lake 43 Murukkampuzha 47 Kaniyapuram 51 Kazhakoottam 54 Veli Veli Lake 58 Kochuveli 62 Thiruvananthapuram Pettah 65 Trivandrum Central Overpass to Nagercoil Junction

History

South Indian Railway Company has opened the Quilon–Sengottai railway line in 1902 with an intention to connect Quilon (Kollam), the commercial capital of Travancore with Madras. Port of Quilon and the city's commercial reputation has urged the British rulers to connect the city of Quilon with Madras for the smooth transportation of goods including Pepper, Cashew, and spices.[3] Later on 4 January 1918, South Indian Railway Company has opened the Kollam–Thiruvananthapuram extension up to Chala. The terminus was shifted to Trivandrum Central (Thampanoor) and was inaugurated in 1931.[4]

Administration

This line falling under the administrative control of Thiruvananthapuram railway division of the Southern Railway zone connects with Thiruvananthapuram–Kanyakumari line in South, Kollam–Kayamkulam line in North and Kollam–Punalur–Sengottai line in the East.[4][5]

Stations

No.	Station	Category	Avg. daily passengers	Avg. daily revenue
1	Kollam Junction	NSG 3	23,285	18,48,050
2	Eravipuram	HG 2	225	3,022
3	Mayyanad	NSG 6	412	7,200
4	Paravur	NSG 5	2,761	40,480
5	Kappil	NSG 6	43	513
6	Edava	NSG 6	532	3,024
7	Varkala Sivagiri	NSG 4	11,427	3,04,661
8	Akathumuri	HG 3	34	677
9	Kadakkavoor	NSG 6	967	18,844
10	Chirayinkeezhu	NSG 5	2,581	39,965
11	Perunguzhi	HG 2	93	859
12	Murukkampuzha	NSG 6	195	2,937
13	Kaniyapuram	NSG 6	345	3,474
14	Kazhakoottam	NSG 5	1881	75,342
15	Veli	HG 2	62	995
16	Kochuveli	NSG 3	1,720	666420
17	Thiruvananthapuram Pettah	NSG 6	914	14,307
18	Thiruvananthapuram Central	NSG 2	39,157	52,91,536

Economy

Five stations were prominent lying in between Kollam & Thiruvananthapuram posted well above ₹1 crore (equivalent to ₹1.4 crore or US$190,000 in 2019) in annual passenger ticket revenue during the fiscal year 2012-13 and most of their revenue increased during the year 2016–2017.[6][7][8][9]

No.	Station	Category	Revenue(2018–19)	Revenue(2017–18)	Revenue(2016–17)
1	Paravur	NSG 5	Rs. 1,47,75,303	Rs. 1,47,35,937	Rs. 1,47,90,285
2	Varkala	NSG 4	Rs. 11,12,01,390	Rs. 10,42,54,286	Rs. 9,81,91,005
3	Kadakkavoor	NSG 6	Rs. 68,78,061	Rs. 74,39,458	Rs. 79,23,915
4	Chirayinkeezhu	NSG 5	Rs. 1,45,87,352	Rs. 1,54,19,697	Rs. 1,53,14,378
5	Kazhakoottam	NSG 5	Rs. 2,74,99,689	Rs. 2,41,04,276	Rs. 2,21,61,918
6	Kochuveli	NSG 3	--	Rs. 24,32,43,266	Rs. 22,21,99,424

Services

There are currently 67 pairs of services, including 25 pairs of daily services(4 pairs of passengers, 18 pairs of express trains and 3 pairs of Super Fast trains) plying through Kollam-Thiruvananthapuram line. Kollam Junction is the 3rd busiest railway station in the state in terms of number of services passing through and 4th busiest in terms of total annual passengers.

References

1. "Rail electrification: inspection begins". The Hindu. 14 December 2006. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
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. "Kollam Municipal Corporation". Retrieved 15 June 2015.
4. "History of Quilon". Retrieved 15 June 2015.
5. Jimmy, Jose. "Cochin Harbour Terminus". Trainweb. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
6. "Southern Railway - Annual originating passengers & earnings for the year 2016-17" (PDF). Retrieved 17 April 2018.
7. "Southern Railway - Annual Passenger Earnings details of Paravur Railway Station". Retrieved 17 April 2018.
8. "Annual originating passengers and earnings for the year 2017-18 - Thiruvananthapuram Division" (PDF). Indian Railways. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
9. "Annual originating passengers and earnings for the year 2018-19 - Thiruvananthapuram Division" (PDF). Indian Railways. Retrieved 6 June 2019.

External links