Jolarpettai–Shoranur line

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.^[1] 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.^[2][3] In 1908, Madras Railway merged with Southern Mahratta Railway to form the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway.^[4][5] In April 1951, the line became part of the Southern Railway zone after the Indian Railways was re-organized into six zonal systems.^[6]

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.^[7] There is a trip shed at Jolarpettai and a MEMU shed at Palakkad.^[7][8] Coimbatore, Salem, Erode and Palakkad, on the line, are among the major and top booking stations of the Indian Railways.^[9]

Jolarpettai–Shoranur line is a 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge railway line stretching for 366 km (227 mi) 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 130 km/h (81 mph).^[10] The line connects with several other main and branch lines:^[11]

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 Salem Junction in 1990–91 and was extended to Erode Junction in 1991–92, Coimbatore Junction 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.^[16][17]