The Palakkad division starts just after Podanur Junction and proceeds westwards towards Kerala. The double track line splits into two single track sections widely spaced apart after the Ettimadai station and pass through the jungles of the Palakkad Gap. The two tracks briefly reunite at the Walayar station, and then again split to join at Kanjikode. At Palakkad junction, the track to Palakkad Town and Pollachi branch off to the left. The main line continues onwards to Shoranur and the division jurisdiction ends just after the bridge across the Bharathapuzha. Two single lines connect Shoranur Junction to this mainline. From Shoranur the branch line to Nilambur branches off into the teak forests on the right, while the mainline continues on north and runs past Tirur, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasargod, and crosses the Karnataka border just before Ullal to enter the Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka. Just after the bridge across the Netravati river, 15 kilometers from the Kerala-Karnataka border, the lines to the Mangalore Central Terminus branch off to the left. The mainline continues past Mangalore Junction (Kankanady) and past the Padil and Thokur station triangles to end at the Panambur New Mangalore port and its yards and sidings.