Kollam–Sengottai branch line

Kollam–Sengottai branch line
Meter Gauge Train passing through Thirteen- Arch Railway Bridge
Overview
Type Express train
Passenger train
Status Active
Locale Tamil Nadu
Kerala
Termini Kollam Junction
Sengottai
Stations 17
Services 1
Website www.sr.indianrailways.gov.in
Operation
Opened 26 November 1904 (1904-11-26)
Closed 1 May 2007 (2007-05-01)
Reopened 9 June 2018 (2018-06-09)
Owner Indian Railways
Operator(s) Southern Railway zone
Depot(s) Kollam
Ernakulam
Golden Rock
Technical
Line length 94.1 km (58.5 mi)
Number of tracks 1
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)[1]
Operating speed 31 km/h (19 mph)
Highest elevation 272 m (892 ft)
Route number 63[2]
Route map
km
to Trivandrum Central
0
 Kollam Junction
to Kayamkulam Junction
TVC
MDU
limits
6
 Kilikollur
8
 Chandanattop Halt
13
 Kundara
15
 Kundara East
19
 Ezhukone
25
 Kottarakara
30
 Kuri
37
 Auvaneeswarem
45
 Punalur
Kallada River
55
 Edamann
63
 Ottakkal
66
 Thenmala
13 arch bridge
Achankoil River
70
 Kazhuthurutty
77
 Edapalayam
75
 New Aryankavu
79
 Aryankavu
Kerala
Tamil Nadu
87
 Bhagavathipuram
93
 Sengottai
102
 Tenkasi Junction
to Virudhunagar Junction
to Tirunelveli Junction

The Kollam–Sengottai branch line (formerly known as Quilon–Shencottah or Quilon–Chenkotta line) is a railway line in South India which connects Kollam Junction in Kerala state and 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 meter gauge rail route commissioned by the British in 1904. The line has been completely converted to broad gauge. Currently, the railway line is operational from Kollam Junction to Shengottai.

History

The Kollam-Sengottai metre gauge line was conceived and implemented by Maharajah Uthram Thirunal of Travancore. The railway line was built jointly by South Indian Railway Company, Travancore State and the Madras Presidency. After a survey in 1888, work started in 1900 and was completed by 1902. The first goods train travelled on this route in 1902 while the first passenger train began its run in 1904. Meter gauge services were inaugurated on 1 July 1904 with the first passenger train flagged off from Kollam by Maharajah Moolam Thirunal of Travancore with a 21-gun salute. The railway line was constructed by the British in the foothills of the Western Ghats to transport forest products, spices and cashews from Kollam to Chennai, their southern headquarters.

Timeline of Kollam–Sengottai rail line

  • 1899 - Survey for Quilon-Madras rail link completed[3]
  • 1900 - Works for Kollam–Sengottai Meter gauge railway line started to connect the City of Quilon with Madras
  • 1902 - Kollam–Sengottai Railway line works completed
  • 1904 - On 1st June, his highness Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma of Travancore flagged off the first passenger train service on Kollam–Sengottai railway line at Kollam railway station
  • 1998 - Gauge conversion of Kollam–Sengottai Railway line officially started
  • 2007 - On 1st May, Rail services on Kollam-Punalur section withdrawn
  • 2010 - On 10th May, Kollam-Punalur broad gauge section thrown open for services[4]
  • 2018 - On 31st March, the entire Kollam–Sengottai line thrown open for passenger train services.[5][6][7] The first passenger train on the stretch was Tambaram-Kollam-Tambaram special train service(06027/28) and completed the service by earning Rs 3.15 lakh as passenger ticket collection from its 879 passengers against a capacity of 712.[8]

About the route

The route was once a lifeline for the people of the southern districts of Kerala state and the Sengottai-Virudhunagar belt of Tamil Nadu. It served to create a strong link especially among the trading community of these areas in the two States. British tea estates and coffee plantations thrived on the labour of tribesman living in the Thenmala forests and workers from Tamil Nadu. The railway line contributed much to the development of a plantation economy in this area. The farmers of the Shencottah-Virudhunagar belt depended on the trains to market their produce in south Travancore. Huge quantities of vegetables, groceries and dairy products such as curd were brought into Kollam district from Tamil Nadu by trains that plied the route. The Palaruvi and Kazhuthurutti waterfalls and the Thenmala eco-tourism centre are on the fringes of this line, and the Courtallam waterfalls at the destination make this route popular with nature lovers.[9]

Notable landmarks on the route

View of 13 Kannara Bridge
  • 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 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.

This train was introduced in 1904 after the completion of Quilon-Sengottai-Virudhunagar meter gauge line and was flagged off by 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 meter gauge line. This train was one of the early meter gauge trains to have an air conditioned coach and First Class. The train was truncated at Quilon after Kollam -Trivandrum Central meter gauge track was converted to broad gauge in 1979. The train by through Madurai junction railway station from 1996 via Manamadurai Junction when Virudhunagar-Madurai line was converted to broad gauge. The train was discontinued in June 2000.

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 open to traffic.

Kollam - Punalur section

The Kollam Junction -Punalur meter 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.[2]

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 March 31, 2018.

Stations

The Railway stations in Kollam Junction - Sengottai railway line are

See also

Route map Route map

References

  1. ↑ J S Mundrey (2010). Railway Track Engineering (Fourth ed.). New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-07-068012-8. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Passenger Train time Table-2013 - Punalur-Kollam-Punalur" (PDF). Indian Railways. Southern Railway zone. p. 54. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  3. ↑ "Kollam Municipal Corporation". Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  4. ↑ "Kollam-Sengottai train service likely from May". The Hindu. Kozhikode. 21 December 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  5. ↑ "Sengottai-Kollam railway line reopens after eight years". The New Indian Express. 1 April 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  6. ↑ "Chennai to Kollam train will resume after eight years". The New Indian Express. 31 March 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  7. ↑ "Special trains announced between Tambaram and Kollam". Times of India. 30 March 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  8. ↑ "First train from Chennai on Punalur line has commuters ready to roll". Times of India. 1 April 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  9. ↑ S. Binu, Raj (17 March 2010). "Whistling adieu". The Hindu. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.