The 16361/16362 Ernakulam Velankanni Express is a biweekly train service in the

Southern Railway zone Southern Railway (SR) is one of the eighteen zones of Indian Railways. It is headquartered at Chennai and operates across the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and the union territory of Puducherry. The origin of the Southern Rai ...

of India that runs between

Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the central business district of the city of Kochi, Kerala, India. It is the namesake of Ernakulam district. The eastern part of Kochi city is mainly known as Ernakulam, while the western part of it after the Venduruthy Bridge ...

and

Velankanni Velankanni (''Vēḷāṅkaṇṇi''), is a Special Grade Panchayat Town in Nagapattinam district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It lies on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, 350 km south of Chennai (Madras), 12 km south of ...

via

Kottayam Kottayam () is a city in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is the district headquarters of the district and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Kottayam has a population of ...

, ,

Chengannur Chengannur () is a Municipalities of Kerala, municipalityhttps://lsgkerala.gov.in/system/files/2017-10/localbodies.pdf in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, India. It is located south east of the district headquarters in Alappuzha and about ...

Kayamkulam Kayamkulam () is a municipality in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, India. It is located south of the district headquarters in Alappuzha and about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Kayamkulam has ...

, , ,

Tenkasi Tenkasi () is a town and headquarters of the Tenkasi district in Indian state of Tamil Nadu.Tenkasi is the third largest city in tenkasi district after Kadayanallur and Sankarankovil. Being one of the most significant spiritual and cultural ...

Virudhunagar Virudhunagar is a city and the administrative headquarter of the Virudhunagar district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located southwest of the state capital Chennai and south of Madurai. Virudhunagar emerged as an important trade c ...

Manamadurai Manamadurai is a Municipality Town in Sivaganga district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Situated 58 kilometres away from the heart of Madurai on the Cochin - Dhanushkodi National Highway. It is the 4th Largest Urban Agglomeration in the Siva ...

Karaikudi Karaikudi is the largest city of Sivaganga district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the centre of the Karaikudi Metropolitan Area, the 21st largest urban Agglomeration of Tamil Nadu based on 2011 census data. It is part of the area ...

, Tiruturaipundi, and

Thiruvarur Thiruvarur () also spelt as Tiruvarur is a municipality in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Thiruvarur district and Thiruvarur taluk. The temple chariot of the Thyagaraja t ...

. This train is helpful for pilgrims from Kerala to reach Velankanni Church and Nagore Dargah.

Service

This train covers a distance of with a journey time of approximately 16 3/4 hours. It runs as a bi-weekly express with train no 16361 on Mondays and Saturdays and 16362 on Sundays and Tuesdays . The railway board approved a biweekly express on 17/8/2023 and is running with the above numbers. It is hauled by ERSX

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) en ...

WDM-3D The Indian locomotive class WDM-3D is a class of diesel–electric locomotive that was developed in 2003 by Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW), Varanasi for Indian Railways. The model name stands for 5 ft 6 in gauge railway, broad gauge (W), Diesel ...

between Ernakulam and Kollam and the rest of the journey is hauled by a GOCD WDP-4/4D. Currently this is one of the two trains starting from Kerala which is running on diesel traction for end to end journey with the other one being the

Poorna Express The 11097 / 11098 Poorna Express is an express train running between to . The Poorna Express runs only on Mondays starting from Ernakulum Junction at 23:20 IST and ends at Pune Junction at 5:05 IST 2 days later covering a total distance of 14 ...

(ERS PUNE).

Major halts

The major halts in this train are *

Ernakulam Junction Ernakulam Junction railway station (also known as Ernakulam South, station code: ERS) is an NSG–2 category List of railway stations in India, Indian railway station in Thiruvananthapuram railway division of Southern Railway zone. It is the m ...

* Changanasseri *

Thiruvalla Thiruvalla, () also spelled Tiruvalla, is a Municipalities of Kerala, municipality in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India. The town is spread over an area of and has a population of 52,883 people, down from 56,837 in 2001. It is also the H ...

Kollam Junction Kollam Junction railway station (station code: QLN) is an NSG–2 category Indian railway station in Thiruvananthapuram railway division of Southern Railway zone.) It is a junction station situated in the city of Kollam in Kerala, India. It ...

Kundara Kundara is a satellite town in Kerala and is part of the Kollam Metropolitan Area, India. Kundara is situated at the eastern end of Kollam city. Kundara is significant for its historic involvement in the Indian independence movement. Kundara w ...

Punalur Punalur is a municipality in the Kollam district of Kerala, India. It is the headquarters of the Punalur Taluk and Punalur Revenue Division. It is in the eastern part of the Kollam district of Kerala, on the banks of the Kallada River and footh ...

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 26,823, ...

* Tenkasi Junction *

Rajapalayam Rajapalayam () is a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the largest municipality in the Virudhunagar district, Virudhunagar district. Rajapalayam is located on the Madurai to Kollam National Highway at a distance of 562 km so ...

* Virudhunagar Junction *

Aruppukkottai Aruppukottai is a town and a municipality in Virudhunagar district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Aruppukottai's classical name is "Sengattu irukkai idathuvali". Aruppukottai is about 50 km from Madurai. It is in the middle of Vellore-T ...

* Manamadurai Junction * Karaikkudi Junction *

Pattukkottai Pattukkottai is a major town in Thanjavur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and also important town in Delta districts and Commercial town of Thanjavur, Thiruvarur and Pudukkottai district Coastal areas. The town came to prominence th ...

* Thiruvarur Junction *

Coaches

The train has standard LHB rakes This train does not have rake sharing and have 1 independent rake. The train consists of 18 coaches: * 2 AC II Tier * 4 AC III Tier * 9 Sleeper coaches * 3 General Unreserved * 2 SLR cum Luggage Rake The number of coaches got increased from 14 to 18 from April 6, 2024, subject to positive inspection report submitted by RDSO to Southern Railway for running 22 LHB/24 ICF coaches in the Ghats section. The number of coaches increased after the extension of platforms in stations along Kollam-Sengottai section to accommodate 24 coaches.

Direction reversal

The train reverses its direction twice: *

Kollam Junction railway station Kollam Junction railway station (station code: QLN) is an NSG–2 category List of railway stations in India, Indian railway station in Thiruvananthapuram railway division of Southern Railway zone.) It is a junction station situated in the cit ...

before entering into Kollam Sengottai Line (Ghat section with an MPS of 30kmph). *

Nagapattinam Junction railway station Nagapattinam Junction (station code: NGT) is an NSG–4 category Indian railway station in Tiruchirappalli railway division of Southern Railway zone. It is a junction railway station serving the town of Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu, India. Loca ...

before entering the line to

References

External links