Nagercoil–Tirunelveli line

The Nagercoil–Tirunelveli line connects the cities of Tirunelveli and Nagercoil in the state of Tamilnadu in Southern Railway zone. Thiruvananthapuram–Nagercoil–Kanyakumari line and Tirunelveli–Nagercoil construction projects were inaugurated by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on 6 September 1972. The maximum speed of trains running between Tirunelveli to Nagercoil is 100 km per hour.^[3]

Nagercoil–Tirunelveli railway line
Main Building of the Nagercoil Junction station
Overview
Native name	நாகர்கோவில்-திருநெல்வேலி ரயில் பாதை
Status	Operational
Owner	Southern Railway zone
Locale	Tamilnadu
Termini	Nagercoil Junction (NCJ) Tirunelveli Junction (TEN)
Stations	9
Website	Southern Railway
Service
Type	Regional rail Light rail
System	Electrified
Services	1
Operator(s)	Thiruvananthapuram Madurai
Rolling stock	WAP-1, WAP-4 electric locos; WDS-6, WDM-2, WDM-3A, WDP-4 and WDG-3A, WDG-4
History
Opened	1981; 44 years ago (1981)[1]
Technical
Line length	73 kilometres (45 mi)
Number of tracks	2
Track gauge	1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
Loading gauge	4,725 mm × 3,660 mm (15 ft 6.0 in × 12 ft 0.1 in) (BG)[2]
Electrification	Overhead catenary
Operating speed	100 kilometres per hour (62 mph)[3]
Route map Legend km to Vanchi Maniyachchi Junction 0 Tirunelveli Junction Thiruvallur overpass to Tenkasi Junction Thamirabarani River to Tiruchendur MDUTooltip Madurai railway division TVCTooltip Thiruvananthapuram railway division limits 4 Melappalaiyam SH 40 Road 16 Sengulam NH 44 30 Nanguneri 36 Dalapathy Samudram 43 Valliyur 51 North Panakudi NH 44 61 Aralvaymoli 65 Tovalai Pazhayar River 74 0 Nagercoil Junction 4 Suchindram 16 Kanyakumari NH 944 Putheri overpass 79 Nagercoil Town NH 66 SH 91 overpass 85 Viranialur Valliyaru River 92 Eraniel SH 180 overpass Thenkankuzhi overpass Panavilai overpass Palliyadi overpass 101 Palliyadi Valvaithankoshtam Tunnel 107 Kulitthurai NH 66 Thamiraparani River 110 Kuzhuthurai West Kazhuvanthittai Junction overpass Kaithakuzhi Tunnel Tamil Nadu Kerala 117 Parassala Vellarada Road Aalampara Road overpass Parasuvaikkal overpass 121 Dhanuvachapuram Dhanuvachapuram overpass 126 Amaravila Halt Neyyar River Neyyattinkara overpass 128 Neyyattinkara 132 Balaramapuram Thannivila Tunnel Pravachambalam overpass 137 Thiruvananthapuram South (Nemom) Nemom Railway overpass Studio Road overpass Pappanamcode Malayinkeezhu Road overpass Karamana River Poojapura Karamana Road overpass Killi River Kochar Road Valiashala overpass NH 66 145 Thiruvananthapuram Central to Kollam Junction

Foundation Stone

History and timeline

• 1955-1956: Survey for this line was sanctioned.^[4]
• 1964-1965: The survey completed.^[5]
• 6 September 1972: The inauguration of the construction project by the then Prime minister Mrs.Indira Gandhi.^[6]
• 1981: The line have been opened to traffic.^[1]

Stations

There are 9 railway stations along the stretch. The major stations are Nagercoil Junction, Aralvaymoli, Valliyur, Nanguneri and Tirunelveli Junction. The details of the railway stations with annual earnings in 2016-2017^[7] is shown below.

Sl. No	Station Name	Category[8] (based on Earnings 2011-12)	Earnings during 2016-17 (in INR)	Total no. of passengers booked during 2016-17	Pass per day	Daily average earnings during 2016-17 (in INR)
1	Nagercoil Junction (NCJ)	NSG 3/A	464332656	2380085	6521	1272144
2	Tovalai (THX)	HG 3/F	215745	16509	45	591
3	Aralvaymoli (AAY)	NSG 6/E	3572159	44755	123	9787
4	North Panakudi (NPK)	NSG 6/E	1479006	18464	51	4052
5	Valliyur (VLY)	NSG 5/D	73942307	264688	725	202582
6	Nanguneri (NNN)	NSG 5/D	15122696	104161	285	41432
7	Sengulam (SGLM)	NSG 6/E	96070	1819	5	263
8	Melappalaiyam (MP)	HG 3/F	191390	11225	31	524
9	Tirunelveli Junction (TEN)	NSG 3/A	854317786	4734404	12971	2340597

**Note:-

1. Stations with blue background - Stations generating Rs. 2,00,00,000(Rs. 2 Crore) or more in a financial year.
2. The criteria for categorization of stations have now been revised to include footfalls at the station. The stations have been clubbed into three groups -- Non-suburban (NS), Suburban (S) and Halt (H). These groups have further been put in grades ranging from NSG 1-6, SG 1-3 and HG 1-3, respectively.^[9]

Electrification & track doubling

The section is fully electrified. Track doubling work is in progress^[10] and expected to finished in 2022.^[11]

Rail Traffic

Around 25 trains running through this line including super-fast, express and passenger services. More trains are expected to be introduced along the route with the completion of track doubling.