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 line during metre gauge era.

Kollam–Thiruvananthapuram trunk line
View of the rail line passing through Kollam Junction
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Southern Railway zone
Locale	Kerala
Termini	Kollam Junction (QLN) Thiruvananthapuram Central (TVC)
Stations	18
Website	Southern Railway
Service
Type	Inter-city rail
System	Electrified
Services	1 (QLN-TVC)
Operator(s)	Thiruvananthapuram Div.
Depot(s)	Kochuveli, Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam
Rolling stock	WAP-1, WAP-4 electric locos; WAP-7 WDS-6, WDM-2, WDM-3A, WDP-4 and WDG-3A, WDG-4
History
Opened	4 January 1918 (1918-01-04)
Extension up to TVC	1931 (1931)
Electrification	2006 (2006)
Technical
Line length	65 kilometres (40 mi)
Number of tracks	2
Character	At–grade
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)
Electrification	25 kV AC OHLE
Operating speed	110 km/h (68 mph)
Route map Kollam Junction–Thiruvananthapuram Central trunk line km to Ernakulam to Sengottai 0 Kollam Junction Chinnakada overpass SP Office overpass 4.6 Eravipuram 8.9 Mayyanad Paravur Lake 12.4 Paravur Paravur town overpass Edava Lake 17.0 Kappil H. 19.9 Edava 23.7 Varkala Maithanam underpass 30.1 Akathumuri 32.8 Kadakkavoor Kadakkavoor overpass 35.9 Chirayinkeezhu 40.0 Perunguzhi 43.2 Murukkampuzha 47.2 Kaniyapuram Kazhakuttam overpass 51.3 Kazhakuttam 57.5 Kochuveli Chakka overpass 62.1 Pettah Kizhakkekotta overpass 64.6 Thiruvananthapuram Central to Nagercoil Junction

History

South Indian Railway Company has opened the Quilon–Sengottai railway line in 1902 with an intention to connect Quilon (Kollam), the commercial capital of Travancore with Madras. Port of Quilon and the city's commercial reputation has urged the British rulers to connect the city of Quilon with Madras for the smooth transportation of goods including Pepper, Cashew, and spices. Later on 4 January 1918, South Indian Railway Company has opened the Kollam–Thiruvananthapuram extension up to Chala. The terminus was shifted to Trivandrum Central (Thampanoor) and was inaugurated in 1931.

Administration

This line falling under the administrative control of Thiruvananthapuram railway division of the Southern Railway zone connects with Thiruvananthapuram–Kanyakumari line in South, Kollam–Kayamkulam line in North and Kollam–Punalur–Sengottai line in the East.

Stations

No.	Station	Category	Avg. daily passengers	Avg. daily revenue
1	Kollam Junction	NSG-2	23,285	18,48,050
2	Eravipuram	HG-2	225	3,022
3	Mayyanad	NSG-6	412	7,200
4	Paravur	NSG-5	2,761	40,480
5	Kappil	HG-3	43	513
6	Edava	NSG-6	532	3,024
7	Varkala Sivagiri	NSG-4	11,427	3,04,661
8	Akathumuri	HG-3	34	677
9	Kadakkavoor	NSG-6	967	18,844
10	Chirayinkeezhu	NSG-5	2,581	39,965
11	Perunguzhi	HG-2	93	859
12	Murukkampuzha	NSG-6	195	2,937
13	Kaniyapuram	HG-2	345	3,474
14	Kazhakoottam	NSG-5	1881	75,342
15	Veli	HG-2	62	995
16	Thiruvananthapuram North	NSG-3	1,720	666420
17	Thiruvananthapuram Pettah	NSG-6	914	14,307
18	Thiruvananthapuram Central	NSG-2	39,157	52,91,536

Economy

Five stations were prominent lying in between Kollam & Thiruvananthapuram posted well above ₹1 crore (equivalent to ₹1.7 crore or US$200,000 in 2023) in annual passenger ticket revenue during the fiscal year 2012-13 and most of their revenue increased during the year 2016–2017.

No.	Station	Category	Revenue(2018–19)	Revenue(2023–24)
1	Paravur	NSG 5	Rs. 1,47,75,303	Rs. 2,12,46,999
2	Varkala	NSG 4	Rs. 11,12,01,390	Rs. 21,07,47,961
3	Kadakkavoor	NSG 6	Rs. 68,78,061	Rs. 82,45,333
4	Chirayinkeezhu	NSG 5	Rs. 1,45,87,352	Rs. 2,10,73,991
5	Kazhakoottam	NSG 5	Rs. 2,74,99,689	Rs. 4,07,80,421
6	Thiruvananthapuram North	NSG 3	--	Rs. 56,81,83,342

Services

There are currently 67 pairs of services, including 25 pairs of daily services(4 pairs of passengers, 18 pairs of express trains and 3 pairs of Super Fast trains) plying through Kollam-Thiruvananthapuram line. Kollam Junction is the 2nd busiest railway station in the state in terms of number of services passing through along with trains handled per day and 4th busiest in terms of total annual passengers.