Madurai–Tirunelveli line explained

Box Width:25em
Madurai–Virudhunagar–Tirunelveli Line
Native Name:மதுரை – விருதுநகர் – திருநெல்வேலி ரயில் பாதை
Type:Regional Line
Status:Operational
Locale:Tamil Nadu
Start:Tirunelveli
End:Madurai
Stations:18
Open:1 January 1876
Owner:Southern Railways
Operator:Madurai Division
Stock:WAP1, WAP4, WAP7, WDP-3, WDP4D, WDG4, WDG3, WAG9
Tracklength Km:157.1
Tracks:1
Electrification:Overhead catenary
Speed Km/H:100
Signalling:Three-aspect Colour-Light signalling (3CL)
Map State:collapsed

The Madurai–Virudhunagar–Tirunelveli Line is a railway line connecting the cities of Madurai, Virudhunagar and Tirunelveli in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. The line was inaugurated on 1 January 1876.[1] This railway is under control of Southern Railways. It covers 157.1 km. The line covers the districts of Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Viruthunagar and Madurai. The speed limit for most of this rail is 100 km/h.

History

Initially, this line was inaugurated on 1 January 1876 as Maniyachchi Junction - Tirunelveli in metre-gauge.[2] The conversion from meter gauge to broad gauge completed on 4 August 1981. The gauge conversion process was performed by retaining the old meter-gauge line and constructing the new line on the other side to avoid extended cancellation of service.

The electrification process for the line started in January 2010 and it has been fully electrified since January 3, 2015.

The doubling process of the Madurai to Tirunelveli line was started in January 2018 and was completed in March 2023.

Stations

There are a total of 18 stations in the route, some of the most important being,, Sattur,, and .[3]

S.No!style="background:#A8DADC;"
StationStationCodeOld CategoryNewCategory
1Madurai JnMDUA1NSG2
2TirupparankundramTDNDNSG5
3TirumangalamTMQDNSG5
4KalligudiKGDENSG6
5Virudunagar JnVPTANSG4
6TulukapatiTYENSG6
7SaturSRTBNSG5
8KovilpattiCVPANSG4
9KadamburKDUENSG6
10Vanchi Maniyachchi JnMEJDNSG5
11NaraikkinarNRKENSG6
12GangaikondanGDNENSG6
13TalaiyuthuTAYENSG6
14Tirunelveli JnTENANSG3

References

  1. Web site: Electric trains go beyond Madurai; to cut travel time Madurai News – Times of India. 4 January 2015. J. . Arockiaraj . The Times of India. en. 12 October 2019.
  2. Web site: Indian Railways history . 2012-11-06.
  3. Web site: Annual originating passengers & earnings for the year 2017–18. Southern Railways. 13 October 2019.