The Jolarpettai–Shoranur line is a

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...

railway line Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...

connecting Jolarpettai in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

and

Shoranur Shoranur is a town and municipality located on the banks of the Bharathapuzha River, in the Palakkad district of Kerala. The town is spread over an area of 32.28 km². Geography Shoranur is located at . It has an average elevation of 49 ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, 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 ...

. Incoming from

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

, the railway line branches from the Chennai Central–Bangalore City line at Jolarpettai and proceeds towards Shoranur before further radiating out.

History

The

Madras Railway Madras Railway (Madras Railway Company) was one of the railway companies operating rail services in British India. In 1832, the proposal to construct the first railway line in India at Madras was made by the British. In 1835, the railway trac ...

was established in 1845 and the construction on the first main line in

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

between

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 ...

in Madras and

Arcot Arcot (natively spelt as Ārkāḍu) is a town and urban area of Ranipet district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located on the southern banks of Palar River, the city straddles a trade route between Chennai and Bangalore or Salem, betwe ...

started in 1853, which became operational on 1 July 1856. Madras Railway extended its trunk route from Madras to Beypore near

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...

in 1862. The line passed through Jolarpettai connecting

Coimbatore Coimbatore (Tamil: kōyamputtūr, ), also known as Kovai (), is one of the major Metropolitan cities of India, metropolitan cities in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyy ...

before passing through the

Palghat gap Palakkad Gap or Palghat Gap is a low mountain pass in the Western Ghats between Coimbatore in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and Palakkad in the state of Kerala. It has an average elevation of with a width of . The pass is located between th ...

and proceeded towards

. In 1908,

merged with

Southern Mahratta Railway Southern Mahratta Railway (SMR) was a railway company in British India founded in 1882. History Captain Charles Cooper Johnson, officiating as constructing engineer of railways in 1858, forwarded the proposal for a railway to be constructed an ...

to form the

Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway The Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway was a railway company that operated in southern India. It was founded on 1 January 1908 by merging the Madras Railway and the Southern Mahratta Railway. Initially, its headquarters was at Royapuram in ...

. In April 1951, the line became part of 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 ...

after the

Indian Railways Indian Railways is a state-owned enterprise that is organised as a departmental undertaking of the Ministry of Railways (India), Ministry of Railways of the Government of India and operates India's national railway system. , it manages the fou ...

was re-organized into six zonal systems.

Stations and depots

There are two

locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

sheds operated by Southern Railway at

Erode Erode (; īrōṭu), is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Kaveri river and is surrounded by the Western Ghats. Erode is the seventh largest urban agglomeration in Tamil Nadu. It is the administrativ ...

. The Diesel Loco Shed holds

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 ...

, WAP-1,

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) l ...

WAG-5 The Indian locomotive class WAG-5 is a class of 25 kV AC electric locomotives that was developed in 1978 by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works for Indian Railways. The model name stands for broad gauge (W), alternating current (A), goods traffic ...

and

WAG-7 The Indian locomotive class WAG-7 is a class of 25 kV AC electric locomotives that was developed in 1990 by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works for Indian Railways. The model name stands for broad gauge (W), alternating current (A), goods traffic ( ...

locomotives. The Electric Loco Shed holds

and

WAP-7 The Indian locomotive class WAP-7 is a class of 25 kV AC electric locomotives that was developed in 1999 by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) for Indian Railways. The model name stands for broad gauge (W), AC Current (A), Passenger traffic ...

locomotives. There is a trip shed at Jolarpettai and a

MEMU In Indian Railways, a MEMU is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train that serves 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 at

Palakkad Palakkad (), Renaming of cities in India, also known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery, is a city and a municipality in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of P ...

, Salem,

and

, on the line, are among the major and top booking stations of the Indian Railways.

Network

Jolarpettai–Shoranur line is a

stretching for from Jolarpettai in

. The main line is classified as a "Group B" line where trains can operate at speeds upto . The line connects with several other main and branch lines: The mainline operates on

25 kV AC Railway electrification systems using alternating current (AC) at are used worldwide, especially for high-speed rail. It is usually supplied at the standard utility frequency (typically 50 or 60Hz), which simplifies traction substations. The dev ...

overhead catenary An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, Electric multiple unit, electric multiple units, trolleybuses or trams. The generic term used by the International Union ...

and was electrified in stages, starting with the Jolarpettai–Morappur sector in 1989–90. Electrification was completed from Morappur to in 1990–91 and was extended to in 1991–92, in 1995–96, and Shoranur in 1996–97. The branch lines were electrified in different stages starting from the Magnesite–Mettur Dam sector in 1990–91 to the

Coimbatore–Mettupalayam branch line The Coimbatore–Mettupalayam branch line connects and in Tamil Nadu. History The Coimbatore–Mettupalayam dual gauge broad-gauge, line was opened to traffic in 1873. The Coimbatore–Mettupalayam section was converted to complete broa ...

in 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jolarpettai-Shoranur line 5 ft 6 in gauge railways in India Rail transport in Tamil Nadu Rail transport in Kerala Rail transport in Karnataka * * * * Jolarpet Railway lines opened in 1861