Quilon Junction is an important station in the Southern Railways network in Kerala and connects Quilon to almost all important centres in the rest of the country. Cochin is about 156 km north of Quilon and takes 3 to 4 hours by train. There are also metre-guage trains from Quilon to Chennai via Madurai which offer a rather different and interestingly scenic journey. A Tourist Information counter functions as the railway station. Quilon is an important transit point for buses on the NH 47 highway fro Trivandrum to the northern towns of Kerala.
Buses are frequent and fares reasonable.
The trip to Trivandrum takes under two hours and to Cochin, about one hour. That year Persian immigrants set up a township in Quilon and built a church there, having received a charter of privileges from the Raja of Venad. In Quilon, over the centuries merchants from all over the world gathered and contributed to the city's reputation as a centre of a flourishing mercantile community. This is borne out by the testimonies of Arab, Chinese. It was also in Quilon that in 1330 A.D Friar Jordams was consecrated Bishop of the roman Catholic See in India.