Opened on 1 June 1904, the Quilon-Madras rail line was the first line inTravancore. Its official gauge conversion started in 1998 and completed in 2018. On 31 March 2018, the entire Kollam–Sengottai line was opened for passenger train service. The first passenger train was the Tambaram-Kollam-Tambaram special train that earned Rs 3.15 lakh by carrying 879 passengers against a capacity of 712. The line provides a shorter route to Thiruvananthapuram via Kollam. Other routes include: Coimbatore and Pollachi to Palakkad, from Madurai via Kanyakumari. On 4 March 2019, railway started daily service between Kollam Junction and Chennai Egmore by extending Tambaram-Kollam tri-weekly special train to Chennai Egmore and increased the frequency as a daily service. The service was speeded-up by 35 minutes and the number of intermediate stops were reduced to 21 from 25. The daily express train service between Chennai Egmore and Kollam Junction via Punalur, Rajapalayam and Madurai Junction was one of the oldest routes in South India. The service was first flagged off by Travancore Maharajah Mulam Thirunal Rama Varma in 1904 as Quilon-Madras Mail. The service was diverted through Virudhunagar and Manamadurai in 1996 due to gauge conversion works in Virudhunagar-Madurai stretch. Later, the service discontinued in 2000 for gauge conversion works.
Route
It runs along the British-made historic Quilon-Madras rail route and other chord lines including Kollam–Sengottai which is the shortest existing rail route from Chennai to Kollam via Chengalpattu, Dindigul, Trichy, Madurai, Srivilliputtur, Tenkasi and Punalur. Chennai Egmore→Tambaram →Chengalpattu Junction →Villupuram Junction →Vriddhachalam Junction →Tiruchchirappalli Junction →Dindigul Junction →Madurai Junction →Virudunagar Junction →Sivakasi →Srivilliputtur →Rajapalayam →Sankarankovil →Kadayanallur →Tenkasi Junction →Sengottai →Aryankavu →Thenmala →Edamann →Punalur →Avaneeswaram →Kottarakara →Kundara →Kollam Junction
Traction
As the route is partly electrified, an Arakkonam WAP 4 Or Royapuram based WAP7 hauls the train till Tiruchirappalli Junction handing over to a Diesel-based GOC WDG-3A which powers the train for the remainder of the journey.
Coach Composition
The train has 14 bogies comprising two A/C three-tier, Eight sleeper class, Two unreserved general coaches and 2 Luggage Rakes.
