Shoranur–Mangalore section

The Shoranur–Mangalore section, also known as Shoranur–Mangaluru section, is a railway segment of IR functioning under Palakkad Division of Southern Railway Zone. This is a broad gauge electrified line which begins at the Shornur Junction railway station in Kerala and ends at the Mangalore Central railway station in Karnataka. This line passes through major towns including Tirur, Kozhikode, Vatakara, Thalassery, Kannur, Payyannur, Kanhangad and Kasaragod.

This line covers entire Districts of Malabar region in Kerala except Wayanad district and terminates at Dakshina Kannada District of Karnataka after crossing the Nethravathi River.

The Shoranur–Mangalore section is a strategic route and the lifeline of Malabar's economy that interconnects the important cities of this regions and also serves as a threshold to Tulu Nadu, Konkan and Mumbai from Kerala.

History
This railway line came into existence through South West line of Madras Railway a private colonial rail enterprise that existed in British Raj.

The first section of this line was established between Tirur and Beypore in 12 March 1861 and this line was 30.5 km (19 miles) long. This happens to be the first railway line in present day Kerala.

This line was subsequently extended 14.5 km till Kuttippuram on 1 May 1861 and from there till Pattambi for a distance of 37 km in 23 September 1862 so as to link with 105 km long Pattambi - Podanur section which got commissioned on 14 April 1862. In 2 January 1888 the rail head at Beypore was abolished and line was extended to Kozhikode via Ferok. The line was further extended till Mangalore in phases by 1907. On 31 August 1956 this entire section came under Palakkad railway division.

In 1998, following the opening of Konkan railways, many trains like Thiruvananthapuram Rajdhani Express, Marusagar Express etc. were routed through this section.

In 2014, this section got completely converted to double line traffic and by 2017 entire section got completely electrified. On 25 April 2023, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi flagged of the first Vande Bharat Express through this route between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasaragod.

Accidents

 * 1921 November 19 - Wagon tragedy
 * 1986 February 28 - Thalassery train disaster that claimed 26 lives during Jagannath Temple festival.
 * 2001 June 21 - Kadalundi train derailment
 * 2023 April 2 - Elathur train attack