Photo credits: Dileep Kumar

The Thenmala-Sengottai Meter Gauge Ghat section had been one of the gems of the Indian rail system and certainly one of Kerala’s most beautiful routes. Maharajah Balarama Varma of Travacore conceived and implemented the railway line during 1904, with an , with an inaugural run in July of that year.

Due to the heavy demands of traffic the route was converted to wide gauge within the past 10 years. The meter gauge line from Kollam to Punalur last ran in 2007 and the Punalur-Sengottai section ran until 2010.