The old port of Quilon
Kollam, once known to traders as Quilon, was one of the great ports of the Malabar coast for over a thousand years, and it was the first city in Travancore to get a railway. That history is still visible in the station code, QLN.
A railway over the mountains
The first line didn't follow the coast. It climbed east over the Western Ghats to Sengottai, linking the princely state of Travancore with the Madras network:
- 1902: goods trains begin running.
- 1 June 1904: the metre-gauge line from Quilon to Punalur is inaugurated.
- 26 November 1904: the Quilon–Sengottai line opens, a spectacular route through the hills with tunnels and viaducts.
- 1918: the line is extended to Chala, in Thiruvananthapuram.
- 6 January 1958: a line north to Ernakulam via Kottayam opens; broad-gauge services to Ernakulam begin on 23 November 1975.
- 2001: electrification at 25 kV AC.
- 10 May 2010: the Kollam–Punalur line reopens as broad gauge.
- 1 December 2013: a MEMU shed opens, built for ₹40.68 crore and the largest in Kerala.
- 2 March 2019: a second terminal opens.
- 10 September 2024: the station is upgraded to NSG-2.
One very long platform
Traffic
In 2025–26 the station handled about 20.2 million passengers, around 55,000 a day, and earned about ₹120.85 crore, ranking fourth in Kerala and third in the Thiruvananthapuram division.
Long-distance trains from Kollam
- Visakhapatnam Express, 1,575 km
- Ananthapuri Express to Chennai Egmore, 858 km
- Tirupati Express, 828 km
- Quilon Mail to Chennai Egmore, 761 km
Backwaters and cashews
Kollam is the southern gateway to Kerala's backwaters, with ferry cruises to Alappuzha, and the historic centre of India's cashew industry. The Ghat line to Punalur and Sengottai remains a favourite with rail enthusiasts; check services in our train timetable.