Kundala Valley Railway was the first

monorail A monorail is a Rail transport, railway in which the track consists of a single rail or beam. Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, the term refers to the style ...

system in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, later converted to a narrow-gauge railway, that operated between Kundala Valley in

Munnar Munnar () is a town located in the Idukki district of the southwestern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. Munnar is situated at around above mean sea level, in the Western Ghats mountain range. This ancient plantat ...

, Idukki district of

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 ...

and Top Station in Theni district of

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 ...

. The railway line had 35 km length.

History

Monorail (1902–1908)

Kundala Valley Railway was built in 1902 and operated between Munnar and Top Station in the Kannan Devan Hills of Kerala . This railway was built to transport tea and other goods. Initially a cart road was cut in 1902, then later replaced by a monorail goods carriage system along the road leading from Munnar to Top Station for the purpose of transporting tea and other products from Munnar and Madupatty to Top Station. This monorail was based on the Ewing System and had a small wheel placed on the track while a larger wheel rested on the road to balance the monorail. This was similar to the Patiala State Monorail Trainways. The monorail was pulled by bullocks. Top Station was a transshipment point for delivery of tea from Munnar to Bodinayakkanur. Tea chests arriving at Top Station were then transported by an aerial ropeway from Top Station down hill to the south to Kottagudi,

, which popularly became known as "Bottom Station". The tea was shipped by cart to Bodinayakkanur, then by rail to other places in India and by ship to England.

Narrow-gauge railway (1908–1924)

In 1908, the monorail was replaced by a narrow-gauge light railway. Light steam locomotives were used to pull trains to stations at Madupatty and Palaar.

Closure

The Great flood of 99 completely destroyed the Kundala Valley Railway in 1924, and the line was never rebuilt.

Revival efforts

In 2019, the Kerala Tourism Department decided to revive the Kundala Valley Rail in lines of

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, also known as the DHR or the Toy Train, is a narrow-gauge, gauge railway that runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in the Indian state of West Bengal. Built between 1879 and 1881, it is about long. It c ...

following a preliminary study that was conducted by DTPC Idukki and Kannan Devan Hills Plantation. In following October there was a high-level meeting of stake holders and officials that suggested PPP Model for implementation. In Kerala State Budget 2021 T. M. Thomas Isaac announced that Tata has agreed to provide land for the revival of rail project as a heritage rail.

Remains

The Munnar railway station building now houses the regional office of Tata Tea. The railway tracks have been replaced by a road in front of this building. Aluminium Bridge near Munnar which was once a railway bridge on the line, has since been converted to road traffic.

References

External links

{{Railways in Southern India Monorails in India 2 ft gauge railways in India Closed railway lines in India Defunct railway companies of India Railway companies disestablished in 1924 Rail transport in Kerala 1924 disestablishments in India Geography of Idukki district Indian companies established in 1902