South Indian Railway Company has opened the Quilon–Sengottai railway line in 1902 with an intention to connect Quilon (Kollam), the commercial capital of Travancore with Madras.

Port of Quilon and the city's commercial reputation has urged the British rulers to connect the city of Quilon with Madras for the smooth transportation of goods including Pepper, Cashew, and spices.

[3] Later on 4 January 1918, South Indian Railway Company has opened the Kollam–Thiruvananthapuram extension up to Chala.

[4][5] Five stations were prominent lying in between Kollam & Thiruvananthapuram posted well above ₹1 crore (equivalent to ₹1.7 crore or US$200,000 in 2023) in annual passenger ticket revenue during the fiscal year 2012-13 and most of their revenue increased during the year 2016–2017.

Kollam Junction is the 2nd busiest railway station in the state in terms of number of services passing through along with trains handled per day and 4th busiest in terms of total annual passengers.