| Kollam Express | |
| Type: | Express |
| Status: | Operating |
| Locale: | Kerala & Tamil Nadu |
| First: | Re-introduced on |
| Operator: | Indian Railways |
| Start: | (MS) |
| Stops: | 21 |
| End: | (QLN) |
| Distance: | 761km (473miles) |
| Trainnumber: | 16101/16102 |
| Journey Time: | 15 hours 45 minutes (Up & Down) |
| Frequency: | Daily |
| Class: | AC 3 tier, Sleeper 3 tier, General Unreserved |
| Seating: | Yes |
| Sleeping: | Couchette cars |
| Catering: | No |
| Observation: | Large windows |
| Stock: | Indian AC Electric locomotive WAP-4 in QLM⇋MS section |
| Gauge: | 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) Indian broad gauge |
| Train Number: | 16101/16102 |
The Chennai Egmore–Kollam Junction Express (16101/16102, earlier known as the Quilon Mail) is a daily train that runs between Chennai Egmore and in India. It is the successor of 115-year-old Quilon Mail, which ran once upon a time in metre-gauge lines between Madras and Quilon.[1]
Opened on 1 June 1904, the Quilon–Madras rail line was the first line in Travancore. 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.[2] [3] The first passenger train was the Tambaram–Kollam–Tambaram special train (06027) that earned Rs 3.15 lakh by carrying 879 passengers against a capacity of 712.[4] The line provides a shorter route to Thiruvananthapuram via Kollam. Other routes include: Coimbatore and Pollachi to Palakkad, from Madurai via Kanyakumari.[5]
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 (Tiruttangal, Pamba Kovil Shandy, Bhagavathipuram, Auvaneeswaram are the four removed from the stoppage list). The daily express train service between Chennai Egmore and Kollam Junction via, and 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.[6]
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→ → → → →Tiruchchirappalli Junction → → → → → →Sankarankovil →Kadayanallur → → → → → → →Kollam Junction[7]
As the route is fully electrified, an Arakkonam / Royapuram / Erode WAP-4 locomotive hauls the train from Kollam to Chennai Egmore and back.
The first electric run of Quilon-Chennai mail in the recently electrified Kollam -Sengottai railway line was on 28th July 2024.[8]
The train boasts its legacy to run with coal powered steam engine locomotive, later with diesel locomotive (first meter gauge then broad gauge), and finally with electric locomotives.
The train has 17 bogies comprising one A/C two-tier, two A/C three-tier, ten sleeper class, two unreserved general coaches and 2 luggage rakes.The number of coaches got increased from 14 to 17 from April 9th 2024, subject to positive inspection report submitted by RDSO to Southern Railway for running 22 LHB/24 ICF coaches in the Ghats section. The number of coaches will be further increased in the next phase after the extension of platforms in stations along Kollam-Sengottai section to accommodate 24 coaches. [9]