The Chennai Egmore–Kollam Junction Express (16101/16102, earlier known as the Quilon Mail) is a daily train that runs between

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 in India. It is the successor of 115 years old

Quilon Mail 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 ...

, which ran once upon a time in metre-gauge lines between Madras and Quilon.

History

Opened on 1 June 1904, the Quilon–Madras rail line was the first line in

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 ...

. 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. The first passenger train was the

Tambaram Tambaram is a southern suburb of Chennai, India. Located in the Chengalpattu district of Tamil Nadu, it is governed by Tambaram City Municipal Corporation and is a part of the Chennai Metropolitan Area. Etymology Tambaram is an ancient town ...

–

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 ...

–

special train (06027) that earned Rs 3.15 lakh by carrying 879 passengers against a capacity of 712. The line provides a shorter route to

Thiruvananthapuram 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

. Other routes include:

Coimbatore Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...

and

Pollachi Pollachi is a town and a taluk headquarters in Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu state, India. Located about to the south of Coimbatore, it is the second largest town in the district after Coimbatore. Pollachi is a popular Marketplace for ja ...

Palakkad Palakkad (), formerly known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. Palakkad is most densely populated municipal ...

, from

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

via

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 ...

. 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 , and 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.

Route

It runs along the British-made historic

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 i ...

–

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 ...

rail route and other chord lines including Kollam–Sengottai which is the shortest existing rail route from

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 ...

via

Chengalpattu Chengalpattu, previously known as Chingleput, is a city and the headquarters of Chengalpattu district of the state Tamil Nadu, India. The town is located near to the industrial and IT hub. It is the headquarters of the district and is away fro ...

Dindigul Dindigul, also spelt Thindukkal (), is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Dindigul district. Dindigul is located southwest from the state capital, Chennai, away from Tiruchirappalli, away ...

Trichy Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...

Srivilliputtur Srivilliputhur (), is a Municipality in Virudhunagar district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. As of 2011, the town had a population of 75,396. The most important landmark of Srivilliputhur is 11-tiered tower structure dedicated to the Vatapat ...

Tenkasi Tenkasi is a town and headquarters of the Tenkasi district in Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Being one of the most significant spiritual and cultural places in South Tamilnadu,Tenkasi houses The Kutraleeshwarar temple (Chitra Sabha), one of the ...

and

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 a ...

. Chennai Egmore→ → → → → Tiruchchirappalli Junction → → → → → →

Sankarankovil Sankarankovil is a city in Tenkasi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It was formerly called Sankaranayinarkoil. Sankarankovil is the home to the Sankara Narayanar Temple . History Sankarankovil is home to the Sankara Narayanar T ...

→

Kadayanallur Kadayanallur is the largest city in Tenkasi district, Tamil Nadu, India. Kadayanallur is 17 km from Tenkasi. Etymology The name Kadaiyanallur comes from "Kadaikaaleeswara", the name of the presiding deity of Kadayaleeswarar kovil, a Hin ...

→ → → → → → →Kollam Junction

Traction

As the route is partly electrified, an

Arakkonam Arakkonam () is a railway town and suburb of Chennai within Chennai Metropolitan Area limit, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, with a population of 78,395 per the census 2011. It is in the newly created Ranipet district, about from Ranipet head ...

-based

WAP-4 The Indian locomotive class WAP-4 is a class of 25 kV AC electric locomotives that was developed in 1993 by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works for Indian Railways. The model name stands for broad gauge (W), AC Current (A), Passenger traffic (P) ...

Royapuram Royapuram is a locality in the northern part of the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is best known for its beach, and for Royapuram Railway Station. The station is the first railway station of south India, opening in 1856, and is today ...

-based

WAP-7 The Indian locomotive class WAP-7 is a class of 25 Volt, kV Alternating current, AC Electric locomotive, electric locomotives that was developed in 1999 by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) for Indian Railways. The model name stands for 5 ft 6 ...

hauls the train till Virudunagar Junction handing over to a GOC-based diesel

WDG-3A The Indian locomotive class WDG-3A is a class of diesel-electric locomotive that was developed in 1994 by Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW),Varanasi for Indian Railways. The model name stands for broad-gauge (W), Diesel (D), Goods traffic (G) engin ...

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.

Schedule

Notes

References

Sources

*https://indiarailinfo.com/train/96239 *https://indiarailinfo.com/train/96242

External links

Southern India Railways - Official Website

Southern India Railway
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chennai Egmore-Kollam Junction Express Express trains in India Rail transport in Kollam Rail transport in Kerala Rail transport in Tamil Nadu Railway services introduced in 2019