Edaman-Punalur trial run on a success, covers 8 kms in 12 minutes.

In a trial run, a railway engine plied on the newly built broad gauge line of Edaman-Punalur recently. The engine run was conducted well before the safety run that was slated for Tuesday. The engine operated on the route and took 12 minutes to reach Edaman from Punalur, starting at 11.30 in the morning and covering 40-60 kms at a normal speed to reach Edaman. This is the second trial run on the route.

On the return journey, it took the same time to reach Punalur. The trial run of the engine was conducted under the supervision of deputy chief engineer (constructions) M R Mohan. The first trial run took place last October.

During the first trial run, the train took half-an-hour to cover 8 kms at a speed of 20 kms /hour. Chief safety commissioner held a safety inspection on the track before the trial run. It was only after the safety officer gave the go ahead, the trial run was operated yesterday.

Of the 45-km long Punalur-Chengotta stretch, only 8 kms between Punalur to Edaman was okayed for the engine run. The line was first a metre gauge line and was made broad gauge in 2010.

The Kollam–Sengottai branch line (formerly known as Quilon–Shencottah or Quilon–Chenkotta line) is a railway line which connects Kollam Junction in Kerala state and Sengottai (also spelled Shenkottai, Chengottai, Chenkottai, Senkottai) in Tamil Nadu. The Quilon–Shencottah railway line was the first railway line in the erstwhile Travancore state and is more than a century old. The Kollam–Sengottai section is part of the Kollam–Chennai meter gauge rail route commissioned by the British in 1904. The line has been partially converted to broad gauge. Currently, the railway line is operational from Kollam Junction to Punalur.

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