Kundale Valley Light Railway

The Kundale Valley Light Railway was the first monorail system and privately owned monorail system by the 'Kanan Devan Hills Plantations Company'(KDHP & Co) that operated in Kundala Valley, near Munnar in Kerala to serve the tea plantations in the area. The monorail operated from 1902-1908

In 1908 the line was converted to a 2 ft(610 mm) (NG) railway.

The Kundale Valley Light Railway, also referred to as the Kanan Devan Railway also the Munnar Light Railway , was a major transportation facility in the area till 1924, when a flood wrought havoc on the system and restoration of the railway was considered impossible.

History

Monorail (1902–1908) Kundala Valley Railway Monorail was built in 1902 and operated between Munnar and Top Station in the Kannan Devan Hills of Kerala . This railway was built to transport tea and other goods. Initially a cart road was cut in 1902, then later replaced by a monorail goods carriage system along the road leading from Munnar to Top Station for the purpose of transporting tea and other products from Munnar and Madupatty to Top Station. This monorail was based on the Ewing System and had a small wheel placed on the track while a larger wheel rested on the road to balance the monorail. This was similar to the Patiala State Monorail Trainways. The monorail was pulled by bullocks. Top Station was a transshipment point for delivery of tea from Munnar to Bodinayakkanur. Tea chests arriving at Top Station from the Kundala Valley were then transported by an aerial ropeway from Top Station 5 km (3 mi) down hill to the south to Kottagudi, Tamil Nadu, which popularly became known as "Bottom Station". The tea was shipped 15 km (9 mi) by cart to Bodinayakkanur, then by rail to other places in India and by ship to England.

Narrow gauge railway (1908–1924) The 2 ft(610 mm)(NGNG] Railway was a 20 mile(32 km) railway in constructed in 1908 to replace the Monorail Munmar to a top station. Opened 1908 by Kanan Devan Hills Plantations Company (KDHP & Co) to serve the tea plantations in the area. The railway was a major transportation facility in the area till 1924, when a flood wrought havoc on the system and restoration of the railway was considered impossible. >

Finally the entire project was dismantled.

“Facets of A Hundred Years’ Planting,” an in-house publication of Tata-Finlay Ltd, says that it took one-and-a-half years to complete the railway project for which the parts of the train were shipped from Britain and assembled at Munnar by engineers of the British tea company. Four railway stations were built for the project at different places including Munnar.

The book has a number of black and white photographs. When the railway was dismantled, a network of rope-ways was built in Munnar for speedy transportation of tea leaves and other goods, says the book. >