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 Railway can be traced back to the Madras Railway formed in 1845. Southern Railway was created on 14 April 1951 by merging three state railways, namely, the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway, the South Indian Railway Company, and the Mysore State Railway and became the first railway zone created in newly formed India. Southern Railway maintains about 5,081 km (3,157 mi) of railway lines and operates 727 railway stations. It has the distinction of operating the first railway line in India, which opened for traffic from Redhills to Chindadripettai in Madras on 12 September 1836.
The 16525 /16526 Island Express is an Indian Railways train running between Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna Bangalore City railway station, Bangalore and Kanyakumari railway station, Kanyakumari. Train no. 16526 runs from Bengaluru to Kanyakumari, and Train No. 16525 runs in the reverse direction. The train runs daily through the state of Kerala and covers the 944 km journey in about 19 hours 15 minutes.
The 12617 / 12618 Mangala Lakshadweep Superfast Express is a Superfast train in India that runs between Hazrat Nizamuddin in Delhi and Ernakulam Junction in Kochi, Kerala via the Konkan Railway route. It is operated by Southern Railway with 12617 / 12618 train numbers. In 1973, the earlier version of this train was the first direct train to Kerala and Coastal Karnataka from the national capital. In its renewed form as Mangala Lakshadweep Express, it became the 1st daily train connecting North,Central Kerala and New Delhi after Kerala Express (1977). It is also regarded as the 1st daily direct access train to the national capital for the Malabar districts, Coastal Karnataka districts and Lakshadweep.It is the only train which connects Nashik,Manmad to Kerala apart from Coimbatore Jabalpur Express.
The 16345 / 16346 Netravati Express is a daily Express train connecting capital cities of Kerala and Maharashtra. It operates between Thiruvananthapuram Central and Lokmanya Tilak Terminus. The train runs on the Konkan Railway.
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 Unit.
Cochin Harbour Terminus is an NSG–6 category Indian railway station in Thiruvananthapuram railway division of Southern Railway zone. It is one of the railway stations in the city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. During the peak time of the station, 17 trains operated from here to different parts of the country and served as the principal station providing rail connectivity to the southern segment of the Port of Kochi located on the Willingdon Island. The station, which has not been in use after the commissioning of Vallarpadam container terminus is now locked and all the train service to the station from Ernakulam Junction were completely stopped in 2013. Since then, only occasional tourist trains carrying passengers will arrive at the station – notably the Golden Chariot in 2022.
Thiruvananthapuram Railway Division (TVC) is one of the six administrative divisions of the Southern Railway, Indian Railways. It has its headquarters at Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of the state of Kerala, India. Thiruvananthapuram Division was formed on 2 October 1979 which serves the eight districts of southern part of the Kerala, Kanniyakumari district. With 104 stations in its territorial jurisdiction, it is the fourth largest out of six divisions in Southern Railway. It is the southernmost railway division of India and manages 625 km of route track and 108 railway stations in the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The major stations of the division are Thiruvananthapuram Central, Ernakulam Junction, Kollam Junction, Thrissur, Kottayam, Ernakulam Town, Chengannur, Kayamkulam, Aluva, Nagercoil Junction, Kanniyakumari, Changanasseri, Tiruvalla, Kochuveli, Varkala, Mavelikara, Angamaly and Karunagappally.
Tea Garden Express is an overnight regional rail connecting Karaikal in Union Territory of Puducherry with Ernakulam in Kerala via Nagapattinam Junction, Thanjavur Junction, Tiruchirappalli Junction, Karur Junction, Coimbatore Junction, Palakkad Junction.
Kottayam railway station is an NSG–3 category Indian railway station in Thiruvananthapuram railway division of Southern Railway zone. It is located in Kottayam, Kerala state, India. Kottayam lies on the busy rail route between Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam. It is an NSG 3 category station. The station is served by several long-distance trains connecting most major cities in the country on a daily basis like New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Bhopal, Pune and Mangalore. Trains connecting extreme ends of india also passes through the station like Jammu tawi, Dibrugarh etc. It is one of the busiest station in Thiruvananthapuram central - Ernakulam route due to ease in accessibility of Sabarimala temple. Kottayam railway station is the halt station for passengers to Sabarimala temple, Vagamon, Kumarakom, Illickal kallu - high range, St. Alphonsa's tomb, Pala and so on. Station currently has 2 by-passing platforms -, and 3 terminal platforms. All platforms are able to accommodate locomotives with 24 coaches. Station is currently under construction of 1A Platform along with a new entrance. By completing double line from Chingavanam to Ettumanoor, southern railway has achieved its complete stretch of double rail line from Thiruvananthapuram to Mangalore
Kollam Junction railway station is an NSG–2 category Indian railway station in Thiruvananthapuram railway division of Southern Railway zone.) 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.
The Kollam–Sengottai railway line is a railway line in South India which connects Kollam Junction in Kerala state and Sengottai in Tamil Nadu. The Quilon–Shencottah railway line was the first railway line in the erstwhile Travancore state and is more than a century old. The Kollam–Sengottai section is part of the Kollam–Chennai metre-gauge rail route commissioned by the British in 1904. The line has been completely converted to broad gauge and is now fully operational from Kollam Junction to Shengottai. It is going to be the important cargo transportation line connecting Vizhinjam container port and South Indian States.
The 16333/34 Thiruvananthapuram–Veraval Express is an Express train belonging to Indian Railways – Southern Railway zone that runs between Thiruvananthapuram Central and Veraval Junction in India.
Punalur railway station is an NSG–6 category Indian railway station in Madurai railway division of Southern Railway zone. It serves Punalur, located in Kollam district of the Indian state of Kerala.
Ernakulam–Kayamkulam coastal line is a railway line which runs along the coastal areas of Alappuzha, Ernakulam districts in Kerala state of India. The coastal railway line starts as a branch line from Ernakulam Junction railway station towards Alappuzha and joins with the route via Kottayam at Kayamkulam Junction. This is the only main track in Kerala yet to be doubled and the single line traffic causes major delays in the route. The coastal line has a total distance of 102 km (63 mi).
Transport in Kollam includes various modes of road, rail and water transportation in the city and its suburbs. State-owned Kerala State Road Transport Corporation buses, private buses, Indian Railways, state-owned Kerala State Water Transport Department boats & ferry, taxis and auto rickshaws are serving the city of Kollam. The city had a strong commercial reputation since the days of the Phoenicians and Romans. Ibn Battuta mentioned Kollam Port as one of the five Indian ports he had seen during the course of his twenty-four year travels.
This is the timeline for Southern Railway zone that encompasses over present day Tamil Nadu, Kerala and parts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
The Palaruvi Express is a daily Intercity express train which runs between Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu and Palakkad Junction in Kerala via Tirunelveli Junction, Tenkasi Junction, Punalur, Kollam Junction, and Kottayam. The train first introduced between Punalur in Kollam and Palakkad. On 9 July 2018, it was extended up to Tirunelveli Junction and later on 15 August 2024 it was extended till Tuticorin.
The 22619 / 22620 Tirunelveli–Bilaspur Superfast Express is a Express express train belonging to Indian Railways Southern Railway zone that runs between Tirunelveli Junction and Bilaspur Junction in India.
The Ernakulam–Kottayam–Kayamkulam line is a railway line which runs through the districts of Ernakulam, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha in Kerala state of India. This railway line starts as a branch line from Ernakulam Town railway station towards Kottayam and joins with the Ernakulam–Kayamkulam coastal line route via Alappuzha at Kayamkulam Junction. This line comes under the Thiruvananthapuram railway division of Southern Railway Zone of Indian Railways. The line has a total distance of 118 km (73 mi). The Ernakulam Town/Ernakulam Junction - Kottayam section opened in 1956-57 and Kottayam - Kollam section in 1957.
The 20631/20632 Mangaluru Central - Thiruvananthapuram Vande Bharat Express is India's 33rd Vande Bharat Express train, connecting South Karnataka's coastal city Mangaluru (Mangalore) with Kerala's south and state capital Thiruvananthapuram. It is the second Vande Bharat Express in Kerala as well as India's first saffron coloured semi-high speed train. The first Vande Bharat train in Kerala started its service between Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram via Kottayam route in April 2023. With increase in patronage, there has been a strong demand by the passengers to have a second Vande Bharat between Mangalore and Thiruvananthapuram so as to increase the frequency of this route per day to three trains.
