Kollam Junction railway station (station code: QLN) is an NSG–2 category Indian railway station in Thiruvananthapuram railway division of

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 ...

.) It is a

junction station ''Junction station'' usually refers to a railway station situated either on or close to a rail junction, where lines to two or more destinations diverge. Many junction stations have multiple platform faces to enable trains for multiple destinatio ...

situated in the city of

Kollam Kollam (;), is an ancient seaport and the List of cities and towns in Kerala, fourth largest city in the Indian state of Kerala. Located on the southern tip of the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, the city is on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake ...

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 ...

, 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 Kollam–Sengottai ...

. It is operated by the

of 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 ...

and comes under the Thiruvananthapuram railway division. 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. Four express trains have been originating from Kollam Junction railway station to South Indian cities of

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 ...

Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam (; List of renamed places in India, formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the States and union territories of India, Indian stat ...

and

Tirupati Tirupati () is a city in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Andhra Pradesh and serves as the administrative headquarters of Tirupati district. It is known for its significant religious and cultural heritage, being home to th ...

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

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 (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...

Kingdom was first conceived in 1873. The line was sanctioned by the

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

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

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

. The metre-gauge line from Quilon to

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 ...

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 Life_zones_of_Peru#Javier Pulgar Vidal's version, 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 larg ...

Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the largest and ...

via Paravur and

Varkala Varkala is a major coastal municipality and a northern suburb of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. In legends and myths related to Kerala, texts like the Keralolpathi, Kerala Mahatmyam describe the Varkala reg ...

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

Quilon Kollam (;), is an ancient seaport and the fourth largest city in the Indian state of Kerala. Located on the southern tip of the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, the city is on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake and is 71 kilometers (44 mi) nort ...

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 ...

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. 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, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration waveforms are recorded as corresponding phys ...

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

Layout

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

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. 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 26,823, ...

line and platform 1 handles trains towards Trivandrum Central. The platform 1 and 1A together have a length of 1,180.5 m making them together the third 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. There are 3 lines extending from Kollam Junction railway station in 3 different directions: * South towards

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...

via Paravur and Varkala * North towards Ernakulam (Kochi) via Kayamkulam-Alappuzha and Kayamkulam-Kottayam * East towards

via Punalur-Tenkasi-Madurai

Location

Surrounding transport hubs: *Nearest bus stations Andamukkam City bus stand (1.2 km) and Kollam KSRTC Bus Station (2 km) *Nearest sea port:

Kollam Port Kollam Port or Port of Quilon is one of the oldest ports (established in AD 825) situated away from Downtown Kollam (formerly Quilon) It is the third largest port in Kerala by volume of cargo handled and facilities and one of the four Kerala po ...

(3 km) *Nearest ferry terminal:

Kollam KSWTD Ferry Terminal Kollam KSWTD Boat Jetty or Kollam KSWTD Ferry Station is an transport hub in the city of Kollam in Kerala, India, one of 14 ferry stations owned by the Kerala State Water Transport Department. Importance Kollam is one of the few cities in Kera ...

(2 km) *Nearest airport:

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

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

Services

Kollam Junction is one of the six railway stations in Kerala where all 163 trains passing through have a scheduled halt. Out of this, four are long-distance express trains originating from the station. These services connect

, and

cities with

Kollam Curve

The initial railway line extended from Kollam to Shengottai, oriented in an east-west direction, resulting in the railway station's alignment accordingly. Subsequently, the Ernakulam-Thiruvananthapuram route, which traverses in a north-south direction, was introduced. Approaching from the Thiruvananthapuram side, this route necessitates a sharp turn to enter the station. The bend is approximately eight degrees Consequently, the maximum speed for trains entering Kollam station from the Thiruvananthapuram side and departing in the same direction is restricted to 30 kmph

Annual passengers and earnings

According to Southern Railway data, Kollam Junction recorded 85,69,871 originating passengers in 2019–20. The most recent figures report 82,75,069 originating passengers for the year 2023–24. The annual passenger earnings from Kollam railway station shows a steady growth for several decades.

MEMU Shed

Kollam MEMU Shed 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 three pairs of

–

(via

Alappuzha Alappuzha (, आलप्पुळ) or Alleppey is a municipality and town on the Laccadive Sea in the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is the district headquarters of the district, and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvana ...

and

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 ...

) via both the routes and a

–

Kanyakumari Kanyakumari (Tamil; / kəɳjɑkʊmɑɾiː/; referring to Devi Kanya Kumari, officially known as Kanniyakumari, formerly known as Cape Comorin) is a town and a municipality in Kanyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the ...

(via

Nagercoil Nagercoil, natively spelt as Nāgarkovil (, "Temple of the Nāgas", or Nagaraja-Temple), is a Municipal Corporation city and the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu state, India. Situated close to the tip of the ...

) & Kollam - Punalur services from Kollam.

Kollam MEMU Shed Kollam MEMU Car Shed is an ISO certified motive power depot facility for maintaining MEMU rakes, situated in the city of Kollam in the Indian state of Kerala. It is one of the four MEMU rake maintenance sheds serving the Southern Railway zone o ...

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

Other suburban railway stations nearby

Future

Kollam Junction is one among the 25 stations in the country selected for first phase redevelopment at international standards along with

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 ...

and Ernakulam Town stations. The modernization works of the old terminal including works for lifts, escalators, new air conditioned waiting area etc. has been initiated in the railway station will be completed with in 19 months . ;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 Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...

services by

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

, 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. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1996 to 2009, representing Rajapur in the Lok Sabha. He was also a member of the ''Rajya Sabha'', representing Andhra Pradesh ...

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

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.

Gallery

File:Platform No.1, 2 of Kollam Junction, Nov 2016.jpg, Platform No.1, 2 File:LED Display board in Kollam railway foot over-bridge, Nov 2016.jpg, LED Display board in the foot over-bridge File:Railway Hospital Kollam 1903.jpg, An old picture of Kollam Railway Hospital File:Science express train in kollam.JPG, A science express train at the station File:Main terminal of Kollam Junction railway station, Jan 2017.jpg, Main terminal File:Memu DSCN4598.jpg, A MEMU train at the station File:Kollam MEMU Shed and Platform No. 1A, Jan 2017.jpg, MEMU Carshed and Platform No. 1A

References

{{Railways in Southern India Railway stations in India opened in 1904 Railway stations in Kollam district Railway stations in Kollam Buildings and structures in Kollam Thiruvananthapuram railway division Railway junction stations in Kerala