Kudla's station
Mangaluru Central, still widely known as Mangalore Central railway station (code MAQ) and affectionately called Kudla Central after the city's Tulu name, is the main terminus of coastal Karnataka, in Hampankatta in the heart of the city. It is graded NSG-2 and has long been run by Southern Railway's Palakkad division; a transfer to the Mysuru division of South Western Railway was announced to take effect from 1 October 2026. The city's other major station, Mangaluru Junction at Padil, is about 2 km away.
A bridge completes the line, 1907
The railway arrived from the south along the Malabar coast. On 4 November 1907, the Governor of Madras, Sir Arthur Lawley, declared the final bridge on the approach to Mangalore complete, "the last rivet was put in position", and the station dates from that year. It became a permanent station in 1930.
To Peshawar and back
Mangaluru's most remarkable train belongs to history. From 1929, the Grand Trunk Express ran from Mangalore all the way to Peshawar, now in Pakistan: a journey of about 104 hours spanning almost the entire subcontinent. In 1971, the Jayanthi Janatha Express began the first direct service from Mangalore to Delhi.
Three directions
- South along the Kerala coast to Kozhikode, Shoranur, Chennai and Kanyakumari
- North on the Konkan Railway to Madgaon and Mumbai
- East over the Shiradi Ghat to Hassan and Bengaluru; the line was converted from metre to broad gauge, with freight from May 2006 and passengers from December 2007
The station
MAQ has 6 platforms (five full-length and a bay line) on 15 tracks. Trains include the Vande Bharat to Madgaon, the West Coast, Malabar, Maveli and Parasuram expresses to Kerala, the Matsyagandha Express to Mumbai, the Chennai Mail and the Vivek Express. Check times on Railopedia's schedule page.