From Top: Entrance of Kollam Junction Railway Station, A MEMU train at Kollam railway station, foot overbridge, name board of the station, Kollam MEMU Shed building
1902:- 1 Jun 1904:- 1 Jan 1918:- 6 Jan 1958:- 23 Nov 1975:- 2001:- 10 May 2010:- 1 Dec 2013:- 2 Mar 2019- 10 Sep 2024
Goods trains service started Station with MG line opened Quilon–Chala service started Became a Junction station BG services to Ernakulam started Line electrification completed Kollam–PunalurBG line opened Kollam MEMU Shed opened Terminal-2 opened Became an NSG-2 station
Kollam Junction railway station (station code: QLN[2]) is an NSG–2 category Indian railway station in Thiruvananthapuram railway division of Southern Railway zone.[3]) It is a junction station situated in the city of Kollam in Kerala, 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.[4][5][6]
Kollam was the fifth city in Kerala to be connected to the nascent Indian Railways. The idea of a rail link from Chennai to Kollam, then the trading capital of the Travancore Kingdom was first conceived in 1873. The line was sanctioned by the Madras Presidency 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.[12] The metre-gauge line from Quilon to Punalur was inaugurated on 1June 1904. The Quilon-Sengottai railway line was inaugurated on 26November 1904. The meter gauge line was later extended to Chala at Trivandrum via Paravur and Varkala and inaugurated on 4January 1918[13] Fund allotted for the extension of meter gauge railway line from Quilon to Ernakulam via Kottayam on 1952 and is inaugurated on 6January 1958.[14][15] 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 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) 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 in Kollam Junction railway station till 2015. Indian Railways removed it to pave way for the developments related to MEMU Shed.[16]
Layout
There are a total of 17 tracks in the Kollam railway station, 2 lines are passing through the MEMU 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 Punalur–Sengottai 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.[17] 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.
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[18] Consequently, the maximum speed for trains entering Kollam station from the Thiruvananthapuram side and departing in the same direction is restricted to 30 kmph[19]
Annual passenger earnings
The annual passenger earnings from Kollam railway station shows a steady growth for several decades.[20]
Kollam Junction is one among the 25 stations in the country selected for first phase redevelopment at international standards along with Ernakulam Junction 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 .[34][35]
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.[46]
^"Station Code Index"(PDF). Portal of Indian Railways. Centre For Railway Information Systems. 2023–24. p. 6. Archived from the original(PDF) on 16 February 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.