Kollam Junction railway station (station code: QLN) is a

junction station ''Junction station'' usually refers to a railway station situated on or close to a junction where lines to several destinations diverge. The usual minimum is three incoming lines. At a station with platforms running from left to right, the minimum ...

situated in the city of

Kollam Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city i ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, India. It is the second largest railway station in Kerala in terms of area and largest in terms of number of tracks and one of the oldest railway stations in the state. It is also the second busiest railway station in Kerala in terms of trains handled per day. World's third longest railway platform is situated at Kollam railway station. Kollam Junction lies on

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 ...

. It is operated by the Southern Railway zone of the

Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tot ...

and comes under the

Thiruvananthapuram railway division Thiruvananthapuram Railway Division (TVC) is one of the six administrative divisions of the Southern Railway, Indian Railways. It has its headquarters at Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of the state of Kerala, India. Thiruvananthapuram D ...

. The annual passenger ticket revenue of Kollam railway station is and 23,048 is the daily ridership through this station. It is one among the few railway stations in Kerala having two terminals with ticket counter facility. Three express trains have been originating from Kollam Junction railway station to South Indian cities of

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

and

Visakhapatnam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura (S20), INS ...

: Visakhapatnam–Kollam Express (weekly), Anantapuri Express (daily) and Chennai Egmore–Kollam Junction Express (daily).

History

was the fifth city in

to be connected to the nascent

. The idea of a rail link from

to Kollam, then the trading capital of the

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...

Kingdom was first conceived in 1873. The line was sanctioned by the Madras Presidency in 1899 and a survey completed in 1900. The railway line was built jointly by South Indian railway, Travancore state and the Madras Presidency. Kollam's (Anglicized ''Quilon'') railway station was built in 1904 by Sree Moolam Tirunal Rama Varma,

Maharaja of Travancore The Maharaja of Travancore was the principal title of the ruler of the Kingdom of Travancore in the southern part of Kerala, India. The Maharaja of Travancore was the topmost ruler of Travancore until 1949, when Travancore was annexed into Indi ...

. It was the ruler's desire to create a rail link between Quilon, the then commercial capital of his State and

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. The metre-gauge line from Quilon to

Punalur Punalur is a Municipality in Kollam district of Kerala State in India. It is the headquarter of the Punalur Taluk and Punalur Revenue Division. It's situated in the eastern part of Kollam district of Kerala, on the banks of the Kallada River an ...

was inaugurated on 1June 1904. The Quilon-Sengottai railway line was inaugurated on 26November 1904. The meter gauge line was later extended to

Chala The Chala or "Coast" is one of the eight natural regions in Peru. It is formed by all the western lands that arise from sea level up to the height of 500 meters. The coastal desert of Peru is largely devoid of vegetation but a unique fog and mist ...

Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

via Paravur and

Varkala Varkala, is a major coastal municipality situated in the northern suburb of Trivandrum, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the headquarters of Varkala Taluk and important government institutions such as the taluk office, court ...

and inaugurated on 4January 1918 Fund allotted for the extension of meter gauge railway line from

Quilon Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city ...

Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the Central Business District of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Many major establishments, including the Kerala High Court, the office of the Kochi Municipal Corporation a ...

via on 1952 and is inaugurated on 6January 1958. The metre-gauge lines between Kollam and Ernakulam were converted to broad gauge in 1975 and inaugurated on 13September 1976. The broad gauge conversion between the Punalur and Quilon sections was inaugurated on 12May 2010. There was once a metre-gauge line connecting Quilon Junction and Ashramam Maidan. During the inauguration of the Kollam-Punalur metre-gauge line in 1904, parts of locomotives which were to be used for Quilon–Schencottah line were shipped to Quilon Port from

Tuticorin Port V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority is a port in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, and is one of the 13 major ports in India. It was declared to be a major port on 11 July 1974. It is second largest port in Tamil Nadu and third largest container terminal i ...

. They were assembled at the Ashramam Maidan, which was an open ground. The line was laid to carry these locomotives to the main station. The line was dismantled in 2000 to allow for city expansion. There was also a

turntable A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

in Kollam Junction railway station till 2015. Indian Railways removed it to pave way for the developments related to MEMU Shed.

Layout

There are a total of 17 tracks in the Kollam railway station, 2 lines are passing through the

MEMU On Indian Railways, the MEMUs are electric multiple unit (EMU) trains that serve short and medium-distance routes in India, as compared to normal EMU trains that connect urban and suburban areas. The acronym stands for Mainline Electric Multiple ...

shed. The station has 6 platforms for handling long distance, passenger, MEMU & goods trains. The platform 1 is divided into two sections. Platform 1A handles the trains to

–

Sengottai Sengottai (also known as Shencottah, Chenkotta or Shenkottai) is a town in the Tenkasi district, of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the gateway to southern Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Spread over an area of 2.68 km2 with a population of over 26,82 ...

line and platform 1 handles trains towards

Trivandrum Central Thiruvananthapuram Central, formerly Trivandrum Central (also known as Thampanoor railway station) (station code: TVC), is a major railway station which serves the city of Thiruvananthapuram (formerly Trivandrum), capital of Kerala state, In ...

. The platform 1 and 1A together have a length of 1,180.5 m making them together the second longest railway platform in India. The station has an MEMU shed which is situated near to Platform 1A. An FCI godown owned and operated by Food Corporation of India is also situated near Kollam junction.

Location

Surrounding transport hubs: *Nearest bus stations

Andamukkam City bus stand Andamukkam City bus stand, Kollam, is one of the two bus stands in the city of Kollam in the Indian state of Kerala. Situated in the Downtown Kollam area, it is also known as Andamukkam private bus stand. The bus stand is only for private city b ...

(1.2 km) and Kollam KSRTC Bus Station (2 km) *Nearest sea port:

Kollam Port Kollam Port is one of the historic ports situated away from Downtown Kollam (formerly Quilon),14 km north of Paravur and 24 km north of Varkala Town It is the second largest port in Kerala by volume of cargo handled and facilities. L ...

(3 km) *Nearest ferry terminal: Kollam KSWTD Ferry Terminal (2 km) *Nearest airport:

Trivandrum International Airport Thiruvananthapuram International Airport , is an international airport which serves Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, India. Established in 1932, it is the first airport in the state of Kerala and fifth international airport of In ...

(67 km) and Kollam Helipad (Old Airport) (0.5 km)

Annual passenger earnings

The annual passenger earnings from Kollam railway station shows a steady growth for several decades.

MEMU Shed

Kollam MEMU Carshed is constructed at a cost of , for Mainline Electric Multiple Unit (MEMU) rakes. It was formally commissioned on 1 December 2013, five years after its completion. Now the railways is operating 3 pair of

–

(via Alappuzha and

Kottayam Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south- ...

) via both the routes and a

–

Kanyakumari Kanniyakumari (; , referring to Devi Kanya Kumari), also known as Cape Comorin, is a city in Kanniyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent and the southernmost city in mainland Ind ...

(via

Nagercoil Nagercoil, also spelt as Nagarkovil ("Temple of the Nāgas", or Nagaraja-Temple), is a city and the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu state, India. Situated close to the tip of the Indian peninsula, it lies on an ...

) services from Kollam.

Kollam MEMU Shed Kollam MEMU Shed is an ISO certified motive power depot facility for maintaining MEMU rakes, situated in the city of Kollam in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Kerala. It is one of the four MEMU rake maintenance sheds ...

is the largest MEMU Shed in Kerala, which is equipped with most modern facilities.

Services

There are 3 express train services originating from Kollam Junction, viz., Kollam–Visakhapatnam Express, Anantapuri Express and Kollam Junction–Chennai Egmore Express. The services connect

Chennai Egmore Chennai Egmore, formerly known as Madras Egmore, also known as Chennai Elumbur (station code: MS), is a railway station in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Situated in the neighborhood of Egmore, it is one of the four intercity railway terminals in t ...

and

cities with

Future

Kollam Junction is one among the 25 stations in the country selected for first phase redevelopment at international standards alongwith Ernakulam Junction and Ernakulam Town stations. The modernization works of the old terminal including works for lifts, escalators, new air conditioned waiting area etc. have been initiated in the railway station but not yet completed. ;Google's High-speed Wi-Fi service

is among the first 100 railway stations in India selected for providing high-speed

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...

services by

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

, named as ‘Project Nilgiri’. There are 5 railway stations from

in the initial stage. The service inaugurated at Kollam station on 26 December 2016 by

Suresh Prabhu Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu (born 11 July 1953) is an Indian politician, India's Sherpa (emissary), Sherpa to the G7 anChancellor of Rishihood University who was the Ministry of Civil Aviation (India), Minister of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Rail ...

Railway Minister of India The Minister of Railways is the head of the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, i ...

, through video conferencing. ;Kollam Junction to get modernization of international standards On 18 September 2019, Indian Railway assured the modernization of Kollam Junction railway station to international standards. Kollam is one of the five railway stations in Kerala to be modernized.

Other suburban railway stations nearby

Main terminal of Kollam Junction railway station, Jan 2017

Terminal-2 entrance of Kollam Junction railway station, Mar 2019

Incidents

* The engine of 56307 passenger derailed on 6 July 2018. * The engine of 16723 Express caught fire at Kollam Junction on 16 July 2018.

References

{{Top 100 booking stations of Indian Railways Railway stations in Kollam district Railway stations in Kollam Buildings and structures in Kollam Thiruvananthapuram railway division Railway junction stations in Kerala Railway stations opened in 1904 1904 establishments in India