Railway zone of Indian Railways
Southern Railway (SR ) is one of the eighteen zones of Indian Railways . It is headquartered at Chennai and operates across the states of Tamil Nadu , Kerala , Andhra Pradesh and the union territory of Puducherry . The origin of the Southern Railway can be traced back to the Madras Railway formed in 1845. Southern Railway was created on 14 April 1951 by merging three state railways, namely, the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway , the South Indian Railway Company , and the Mysore State Railway . Southern Railway maintains about 5,081 km (3,157 mi) of railway lines and operates 727 railway stations .
History
The history of the Southern Railway can be traced back to the Madras Railway . In 1832, the proposal to construct the first railway line in India at Madras was made by the British .[2] In 1835, the railway track was constructed between Little Mount and Chintadripet in Madras and became operational in 1837.[3] The Madras Railway was established later in 1845 and the construction on the first main line between Madras and Arcot started in 1853, which became operational in 1856.[4] In 1908, Madras Railway merged with Southern Mahratta Railway to form the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway .[5] [6]
In 1944, all the railway companies operating in British India were taken over by the Government.[7] Post Independence , various re-grouping proposals were studied as there were 42 different railway systems. In December 1950, the Central Advisory Committee for Railways approved the plan for Indian Railways into six zonal systems and the Southern Railway zone was created on 14 April 1951 by merging three state railways, namely, the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway , the South Indian Railway Company , and the Mysore State Railway .[8]
Organisation
Southern Railway headquarters in Chennai
Southern Railway zone covers the states of Tamil Nadu , Kerala , Puducherry and a small portion of Andhra Pradesh .[8] Andaman and Nicobar will form part of the zone once the proposed new railway line between Port Blair and Diglipur becomes operational.[9]
The Southern Railway is headed by the General Manager, assisted by an Additional General Manager. Southern Railway is headquartered in Chennai and is divided into six divisions namely Chennai , Tiruchirappalli , Madurai , Palakkad , Salem and Thiruvananthapuram .[8]
Operations and infrastructure
The zone operates both passenger and freight trains. Various classes of passenger trains including Vande Bharat Express , Shatabdi Express and Tejas Express are operated by Southern Railways.[10] Freight operations include container traffic from the ports, coal bound to the thermal power stations, oil and petroleum products from refineries, cement and food grains. Most of the lines inside ports, thermal stations, manufacturing industries and owned by the respective companies and the zone provides a link connecting to its network along with the wagons and locomotives. The zone has a larger proportion of passenger traffic compared to freight.[11] [12] There are about 727 stations on the Southern railway network.[13]
Locomotives
A Erode WAP-7 locomotive of Southern Railway
A X class locomotive of the Nilgiri Mountain Railway
Southern Railway utilizes various classes of electric and diesel locomotives to haul the trains. Steam locomotives are used by the Nilgiri Mountain Railway .[14] The zone has three electric locomotive sheds and four diesel locomotive sheds.[15]
Name
Location
Type
Locomotive class
Count
Electric Loco Shed, Arakkonam
Arakkonam
Electric
WAP-4 , WAG-5 , WAG-9
171
Electric Loco Shed, Erode
Erode
Electric
WAP-4 , WAP-7 , WAG-7
205
Electric Loco Shed, Royapuram
Chennai
Electric
WAP-7
109
Diesel Loco Shed, Ernakulam
Ernakulam
Diesel ,Electric
WDM-3A , WDG-3A , WDM-3D , WDG-4 , WDG-4D , WAG-5
69
Diesel Loco Shed, Erode
Erode
Diesel
WDM-3D , WAP-1 , WAP-4 , WAG-5 , WAG-7
132
Diesel Loco Shed, Golden Rock
Tiruchirappalli
Diesel
WDM-3A , WDG-3A , WDP-3A , WDM-3D , WDP-4 , WDG-4 , YDM-4 , WDS-6 , WDM-7
148
Diesel Loco Shed, Tondiarpet
Chennai
Diesel
WDM-3A , WDG-3A , WDM-7 , WDS-6 , WDG-4
53
Coonoor Loco Shed, Coonoor
Coonoor
Steam , Diesel
X Class , YDM-4
A typical LHB coach of Indian Railways
Maintenance and workshops
Southern Railway maintains wagon and locomotive workshops at Perambur, Chennai and Ponmalai, Tiruchirapalli , engineering workshop at Arakkonam , carriage maintenance workshops at Basin Bridge and Egmore and a signal and telecommunication workshop at Podanur , Coimbatore . It has three EMU car sheds in Chennai at Avadi , Tambaram , Velachery and MEMU sheds at Kollam [16] and Palakkad .[17] Southern Railway maintains trip sheds at Basin Bridge , Egmore , Tondiarpet and Jolarpettai .[15] Southern Railway operated ticket printing presses at Royapuram , Thiruvananthapuram and Tiruchirappalli , but these have been phased out due to digitization .[18] [19]
Railway coaches and wagons
Southern Railways uses both ICF coaches and LHB coaches for its trains. ICF coaches manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai have been used predominantly for over sixty years since the formation of the zone in 1951.[20] The ICF coaches are slowly being replaced by newer LHB rakes which provide better passenger comfort and safety.[21] [22]
Railway lines
Following are the list of railway lines operational.[23]
Line
Start
End
Type
Gauge
Electrified
No. of Lines
Length
Major stations
Chennai Central-Jolarpettai
Chennai Central
Jolarpettai
Main
Broad
Yes
2 (4 till Arakkonam)
213 km (132 mi)
Katpadi
Chennai Central -Renigunta
Chennai Central
Renigunta
Main
Broad
Yes
2 (4 till Arakkonam)
135 km (84 mi)
Arakkonam
Chennai Central-Gudur
Chennai Central
Gudur
Main
Broad
Yes
2
136 km (85 mi)
Sullurupeta
Jolarpettai–Shoranur
Jolarpettai
Shoranur
Main
Broad
Yes
2
366 km (227 mi)
Salem , Erode , Coimbatore , Coimbatore North , Podanur , Palakkad
Shoranur-Mangalore railway line
Shoranur
Mangalore
Main
Broad
Yes
2
315 km (196 mi)
Kannur , Kozhikode
Shoranur-Ernakulam line
Shoranur
Cochin Harbour Terminus
Main
Broad
Yes
2
107 km (66 mi)
Thrissur , Aluva ,Ernakulam Junction , Ernakulam Town
Chennai Egmore -Thoothukudi
Chennai Egmore
Thoothukudi
Main
Broad
Yes
2 (4 till Chengalpattu)
654 km (406 mi)
Chengalpattu , Villupuram , Virudhachalam , Tiruchirappalli , Dindigul , Madurai , Virudhunagar , Vanchi
Tiruchirappalli -Thanjavur
Tiruchirappalli
Thanjavur
Branch
Broad
Yes
2
50 km (31 mi)
Tiruchirappalli -Erode
Tiruchirappalli
Erode
Branch
Broad
Yes
1
141 km (88 mi)
Karur
Salem -Dindigul
Salem
Dindigul
Branch
Broad
Yes
1
159 km (99 mi)
Karur
Madurai -Rameswaram
Madurai
Rameswaram
Branch
Broad
Yes
1
173.82 km (108.01 mi)
Manamadurai
Tiruchirappalli -Sengottai
Tiruchirappalli
Sengottai
Branch
Broad
Yes
1
320 km (200 mi)
Karaikudi , Manamadurai , Virudhunagar
Vanchi Maniyachchi -Tirunelveli
Vanchi Maniyachchi
Tirunelveli
Branch
Broad
Yes
2
28.9 km (18.0 mi)
Tiruchirappalli -Thanjavur
Tiruchirappalli
Thanjavur
Branch
Broad
Yes
2
50 km (31 mi)
Coimbatore North -Mettupalayam
Coimbatore North
Mettupalayam
Branch
Broad
Yes
1
32.8 km (20.4 mi)
Nilgiri Mountain Railway
Mettupalayam
Udhagamandalam
Branch
Metre
No
1
45.9 km (28.5 mi)
Coonoor
Thrissur-Guruvayur line
Thrissur
Guruvayur
Branch
Broad
Yes
1
22.6 km (14.0 mi)
Shoranur -Nilambur line
Shoranur
Nilambur Road
Branch
Broad
Yes [24]
1
65.8 km (40.9 mi)
Ernakulam–Kayamkulam coastal line
Ernakulam
Kayamkulam
Branch
Broad
Yes
1 ( 2 in Ambalapuzha-Kayamkulam )
100.34 km (62.35 mi)
Alappuzha
Ernakulam–Kottayam–Kayamkulam line
Ernakulam Junction / Ernakulam Town
Kayamkulam
Branch
Broad
Yes
2
118 km (73 mi)
Kottayam ,Chengannur
Kollam-Sengottai line
Kollam
Sengottai
Branch
Broad
Yes
1
94 km (58 mi)
Kayamkulam -Kollam -Thiruvananthapuram line
Kayamkulam
Thiruvananthapuram
Branch
Broad
Yes [25]
2
105 km (65 mi)
Kochuveli
Thiruvananthapuram–Nagercoil–Kanyakumari line
Thiruvananthapuram
Kanniyakumari
Branch
Broad
Yes
2
89 km (55 mi)
Tenkasi -Tiruchendur
Tenkasi
Tiruchendur
Branch
Broad
Yes
1
61.2 km (38.0 mi)
Tenkasi -Sengottai
Tenkasi
Sengottai
Branch
Broad
Yes
1
8 km (5.0 mi)
Irugur -Podanur
Irugur
Podanur
Branch
Broad
Yes
1
10.9 km (6.8 mi)
Dindigul -Pollachi
Dindigul
Pollachi
Branch
Broad
Yes
1
120.7 km (75.0 mi)
Palani
Podanur -Pollachi
Podanur
Pollachi
Branch
Broad
Yes
1
40 km (25 mi)
Palakkad–Pollachi line
Palakkad
Pollachi
Branch
Broad
Yes
1
57.8 km (35.9 mi)
Salem -Mettur Dam
Salem
Mettur Dam
Branch
Broad
Yes
2
38.9 km (24.2 mi)
Salem -Virudhachalam
Salem
Virudhachalam
Branch
Broad
Yes
1
139 km (86 mi)
Cuddalore -Thanjavur
Cuddalore
Thanjavur
Branch
Broad
Yes
1
146 km (91 mi)
Cuddalore -Virudhachalam
Cuddalore
Virudhachalam
Branch
Broad
Yes
1
57 km (35 mi)
Mayiladuthurai
Villupuram -Puducherry
Villupuram
Puducherry
Branch
Broad
Yes
1
37.6 km (23.4 mi)
Villupuram -Katpadi
Villupuram
Katpadi
Branch
Broad
Yes
1
161 km (100 mi)
Tiruvannamalai
Thanjavur -Karaikal
Thanjavur
Karaikal
Branch
Broad
Yes
1
95.4 km (59.3 mi)
Nagapattinam
Mayiladuthurai -Thiruvarur
Mayiladuthurai
Thiruvarur
Branch
Broad
Yes
1
39 km (24 mi)
Arakkonam -Chengalpattu
Arakkonam
Chengalpattu
Branch
Broad
Yes
1
68 km (42 mi)
Nagapattinam -Velankanni
Nagapattinam
Velankanni
Branch
Broad
Yes
1
10.4 km (6.5 mi)
Madurai -Bodinayakkanur
Madurai
Bodinayakkanur
Branch
Broad
Yes
1
88 km (55 mi)
Thiruvarur -Tiruturaipundi
Thiruvarur
Tiruturaipundi
Branch
Broad
WIP for Electification
1
26 km (16 mi)
Karaikkudi -Tiruturaipundi
Karaikkudi
Tiruturaipundi
Branch
Broad
WIP for Electification
1
149 km (93 mi)
Tiruturaipundi -Agastiyampalli
Tiruturaipundi
Agastiyampalli
Branch
Broad
WIP for Electification
1
36.8 km (22.9 mi)
Chennai-Mysore Vande Bharat Express
Chennai Central , the busiest station of Southern railway
Defunct railway lines include Kundala Valley Railways ,[26] [27] Kochin Tramways ,[28] Madras Tramways ,[29] Tiruchendur Light Railway,[30] Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri famine light railways,[31] [32] Kodaikanal Light Railway.[33]
[34]
Trains
Southern Railways operates 41 sets of express trains and 97 sets of superfast trains. The superfast trains include: Vande Bharat Express (8), Shatabdi Express (2), Garib Rath Express (2), Duronto Express (1), Jan Shatabdi Express (4), Sampark Kranti Express (1), Anuvrat Express (1), Humsafar Express (1), Tejas Express (1), Uday Express (1), Antyodaya Express (2) and Double Decker Express (1). Apart from this, it operates various Passenger trains , DEMU , EMU services, Chennai Suburban and the Nilgiri Mountain Railway.[10]
Stations
There are about 727 stations on the Southern railway network including 486 non suburban stations, 74 suburban stations and 166 halt stations. The major and highest revenue earning stations are Chennai Central , Chennai Egmore , Coimbatore Junction , Tambaram , Madurai Junction , Thiruvananthapuram Central and Ernakulam Junction .[13]
Chennai Suburban
Chennai suburban map
Chennai Suburban Railway is the commuter rail system in the city of Chennai , operated by the Southern Railways. The system operates four lines with a track length of 1,174.21 km (729.62 mi), of which 509.71 km (316.72 mi) are dedicated dual tracks for EMUs.[35] [36]
Nilgiri Mountain Railway
Nilgiri Mountain Railway
Nilgiri Mountain Railway is a 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+ 3 ⁄8 in ) metre gauge railway in Nilgiris district connecting Mettupalayam and Udagamandalam . It was built during the British Raj in 1908 and is currently operated by the Southern Railways.[37] [38] It is the only rack railway in India and operates on its own fleet of steam locomotives between Coonoor and Udhagamandalam.[39] In July 2005, UNESCO added the Nilgiri Mountain Railway as an extension to the World Heritage Site of Mountain Railways of India .[38]
See also
References
External links