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Many vloggers hype about this rail route and few stations on this route. I saw some Tamil vloggers saying வேற லெவல் Bro... சான்சே இல்ல etc... to add more hype to this railway line. It is not only Tamil vloggers, even some Kerala bloggers/vloggers claim some railway stations in this rail line as അടിപൊളി and blow some trumpet about the extraordinary beauty. I don’t understand what they mean by extraordinary.
Of course, it is a scenic route. However, don't expect any extraordinary beauty during the trip. Probably people who have seen only deserts in Rajasthan can claim this as the supreme beautiful railway line. It is a beautiful rail route, just like any other rail route in Kerala. I have travelled many times in the car, so I thought of taking a train journey.
I have travelled extensively on the Island Express (Kanyakumari - Bangalore Express) many times, since 1987. The route has even more scenic beauty. The picturesque Western Ghats, the Arabian Sea, backwaters of Kochi-Kollam, small hamlets in the water, paddy fields, small jungles, major rivers, rivulets, hilly terrain, plain lands... offer a glimpse of rural life and the beauty of Kerala. All train journeys in Kerala offer their own beautiful scenery.
The Nilambur Road railway station is in Malappuram district. The railway line to Shoranur Junction was started in the colonial era (1927) for the transportation of Nilambur Teak logs into the UK through the Kozhikode Sea. Nilambur had/has many teak forests. There are plenty of teak trees available on the sides of railway lines even today, starting from Shoranur.
Now, coming to the Nilambur Road Railway station, it is a terminal station. The Western Ghats are in the north. No further line is available. Though there's a move to extend the line to Mysore or to Gundlupet in Karnataka, it has not yet started; only in the planning (the speed at which govt projects work, it might take another 20 years if starts now). The Nilambur Road railway line does not go through any reserve forests, I suppose, it only passes through different villages and small towns in Malappuram district.
I started my journey on the Kottayam Express from Punkunnam station near Thrissur. The train came in time, around 830a.m. I reached Shoranur Junction at 9.38 a.m. and had an eternal delay of one hour. However, after Shoranur there were only two stops (
Angadippuram & Vaniyambalam) so it reached with a small delay, just before 12 p.m. I had some Kerala food in a small eatery Hotel City Moon, opposite to the railway station. Also, some tea and relaxed. There is a teak museum at Nilambur I did not wander much in the town, as it was very hot. Also, there are no historical monuments and other attractions in the town.
On the return journey, the train started in time at 3.10 p.m. and had a major delay at Vallathol station and reached Punkunnam after 6 p.m. with a delay of more than half an hour. Fortunately, the day of my travel was Thursday and there was no Vandre Baharat train on that day. Otherwise, it would have been delayed further.
The only plus point of the trip was that one could travel without much crowd on this route, enjoying the beauties of nature, enjoy a peaceful trip and get some relaxation. Typical highlands of Kerala can be seen on the way.
Also, less money for tickets; no Vande Bharat, no Jan Shatabdi facilities on the train. Just an ordinary passenger train, some are named Express (after Corona revenue generation) with the same time and speed, with a cleverly increased ticket fare. There are only a few trains to this terminal station: one Veli Trivandrum train, one Kottayam Unreserved Express, and a few Shoranur trains.
Enjoy the trip.
Don't expect anything extraordinary.