The Jolarpettai–Shoranur line is a broad gauge railway line connecting Jolarpettai in Tamil Nadu and Shoranur in Kerala. Incoming from Chennai, the railway line branches from the Chennai Central–Bangalore City line at Jolarpettai and proceeds towards Shoranur before further radiating out.
History The Madras Railway was established in 1845 and the construction on the first main line in South India between Royapuram in Madras and Arcot started in 1853, which became operational on 1 July 1856. Madras Railway extended its trunk route from Madras to Beypore near Kozhikode in 1862. The line passed through Jolarpettai connecting Coimbatore before passing through the Palghat gap and proceeded towards Shoranur. In 1908, Madras Railway merged with Southern Mahratta Railway to form the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway. In April 1951, the line became part of the Southern Railway zone after the Indian Railways was re-organized into six zonal systems.
Stations and depots There are two locomotive sheds operated by Southern Railway at Erode. The Diesel Loco Shed holds WDM-3D, WAP-1, WAP-4, WAG-5 and WAG-7 locomotives. The Electric Loco Shed holds WAG-7, WAP-4 and WAP-7 locomotives. There is a trip shed at Jolarpettai and a MEMU shed at Palakkad. Coimbatore, Salem, Erode and Palakkad, on the line, are among the major and top booking stations of the Indian Railways.
Network Jolarpettai–Shoranur line is a broad gauge railway line stretching for from Jolarpettai in Tamil Nadu to Shoranur in Kerala. The main line is classified as a "Group B" line where trains can operate at speeds upto . The line connects with several other main and branch lines:
Line Start End Type Gauge Electrified No. of Lines Length Connection with Line Operator Established Chennai Central-Bangalore City Chennai Central Bangalore City MainBroadYes2 JolarpettaiSR 1864 Shoranur-Mangalore Shoranur Mangalore Shoranur Shoranur-Ernakulam Cochin Harbour Salem-Mettur Dam Salem Mettur Dam Branch Salem 1929 Salem-Dindigul Dindigul 1 2013 Salem-Virudhachalam Virudhachalam 1931 Omalur-Yesvantpur Omalur Yesvantpur No Omalur SWR 1969 Erode-Tiruchirappalli Erode TiruchirappalliYes ErodeSR 1866 Coimbatore North-Mettupalayam Coimbatore North Mettupalayam Coimbatore North 1873 Podanur-IrugurPodanur Irugur Podanur 1873 Podanur-Pollachi Pollachi Palakkad–Pollachi line Palakkad Palakkad 1932 Shoranur -Nilambur line Shoranur Nilambur Road Shoranur
The mainline operates on 25 kV AC overhead catenary and was electrified in stages, starting with the Jolarpettai–Morappur sector in 1989–90. Electrification was completed from Morappur to in 1990–91 and was extended to in 1991–92, in 1995–96, and Shoranur in 1996–97. The branch lines were electrified in different stages starting from the Magnesite–Mettur Dam sector in 1990–91 to the Coimbatore–Mettupalayam branch line in 2015.
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