Industry | Railways |
---|---|
Founded | 8 May 1845 |
Defunct | Merged with Southern Mahratta Railway to form Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway in 1908 |
Headquarters | Madras (now Chennai) , |
Area served | Southern India |
Services | Rail transport |
Madras Railway (Madras Railway Company) was one of the railway companies operating rail services in British India.
In 1832, the proposal to construct the first railway line in India at Madras was made by the British. In 1835, the railway track was constructed between Little Mount and Chintadripet in Madras and became operational in 1837. [1] 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. [2] [3] [4] Its objective was to connect Madras on the east coast with the west coast and to link up with the line from Bombay [3] [4]
In 1862, a link with the west coast was established with a line to Beypore, which served as the western terminus of the Madras Railway. The western terminus was shifted to Kozhikode in 1888. [4] The link between Jolarpettai, a station on the Chennai-Beypore and Bangalore Cantonment was established in 1864. [5] In 1871, the Madras Railway was extended up to Raichur and was linked with an extension of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway from Kalyan thereby connecting Madras and Bombay. [6] Vijayawada link was established in 1899, thereby opening the Howrah-Chennai main line connecting Madras with Calcutta. [6]
Railways in British India [7]
"As a child of its era, the railway left an indelible mark on the 19th century developments in India. In a country of continental distances, it provided the foundation for modern economic expansion by facilitating the carriage of huge quantities of passengers and freight over very long distances at hitherto unparalleled speeds. During the early part of 20th century, in a growing economy with rapid increase in demand for mobility, railway development was sparked off at a pace similar if not more marked than in Western countries in the 19th century. Development and rapid expansion of railway network in British India served as the backbone for economic growth and industrial development in the post independence era."
By the end of 1877 the company owned 150 steam locomotives, 391 coaches and 3223 goods wagons. [8] The southern part of the East Coast State Railway was taken over by Madras Railway in 1901. [9] The Kolar Gold Fields railway, Nilgiri Mountain Railway and Shoranur-Cochin railway were part of Madras Railway. [3]
In 1908, Madras Railway merged with Southern Mahratta Railway to form the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway. [10] [3]
Southern Railway is one of the nineteen 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.
Egmore is a neighbourhood of Chennai, India. Situated on the northern banks of the Coovum River, Egmore is an important residential area as well as a commercial and transportation hub. The Egmore Railway Station was the main terminus of the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway and later, the metre gauge section of the Southern division of the Indian Railways. It continues to be an important railway junction. The Government Museum, Chennai is also situated in Egmore. Other important institutions based in Egmore include the Government Women and Children's Hospital, the Tamil Nadu State Archives and the Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department. The Wesley Church, Egmore is the oldest church of the region.
Perambur Loco Works is a suburban railway station in the Perambur area of the city of Chennai, in Tamil Nadu, in India. It serves the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) that is one of the largest railroad carriage and locomotive manufacturers in the world. The station serves growing areas like Periyar Nagar and Jawahar Nagar localities in the north-west corner of Chennai. The station has an elevation of 7.01 m above sea level.
Chennai Beach is a railway terminus of the Southern Railway network in Parry's Corner, Chennai, India. Built on reclaimed land, the station serves the suburban services of the Chennai Suburban Railway and Mass Rapid Transit System (Chennai) and a few passenger trains. It serves as the northern terminus for the Chennai MRTS line. The station is named after High Court Beach, which was later built up as part of Chennai Port, and not after the Marina Beach, which is located a few kilometres away and is served by Chepauk, Triplicane and Lighthouse stations of the MRTS line. The station consists of 1500 square metres of open parking area.
Perambur Carriage Works railway station is a suburban railway station less than a kilometre from the Perambur railway station in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The station has an elevation of 7.16 m above sea level. Mainly POH and IOH of all type of passenger coaches are undertaken here. The railway department has many facilities around this station, including a school, and an indoor sporting facility.
Shoranur–Cochin Harbour section is a high density railway corridor in Kerala state, India, running from Shoranur Junction in Palakkad district through Thrissur district to Cochin in Ernakulam district. The Shoranur–Cochin Harbour section is strategic and the lifeline of Kerala economy that connects the state to other parts of India. It is central to the provision of fast, long-distance Intercity and Express passenger services between Kerala and other cities of India. It is operated by Thiruvananthapuram railway division of the Southern Railway zone.
Royapuram railway station is a railway station at Royapuram, on the Chennai Beach–Walajapet section of the Chennai Suburban Railway network in Chennai, India. It is the second oldest railway station currently operational in India after Howrah railway station situated in Howrah, West Bengal and the first railway station of South India. The first train of South India started operating in June 1856 from Royapuram railway station. The station also remained the headquarters of the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway till 1922, when the headquarters was shifted to Egmore. Since the original structures of Bombay and Thane stations no longer exist, Royapuram station remains the oldest railway station in the entire subcontinent.
The Howrah–Chennai main line is a railway line connecting Chennai and Kolkata cutting across Eastern Coastal Plains of India. It covers a distance of 1,661 kilometres (1,032 mi) across, West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
The Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line is a railway line in India connecting Kolkata and Mumbai via Nagpur. The 1,968-kilometre-long (1,223 mi) railway line was opened to traffic in 1900.
The Duvvada–Vijayawada section is a railway line connecting Duvvada in the city of Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada, both in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The main line is part of the Howrah–Chennai main line. The track from Duvvada to Thadi is under the administrative jurisdiction of East Coast Railway zone, and the rest of the line from Anakapalle to Vijayawada is under the administrative jurisdiction of South Central Railway zone.
The Vijayawada–Gudur section is a railway line connecting Vijayawada in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and Gudur. The main line is part of the Howrah–Chennai and New Delhi–Chennai main lines.
Solapur railway station is located in Solapur district in the Indian state of Maharashtra and serves Solapur city and the industrial belt around it. It is headquarters of Solapur Railway Division and a part of Central Railway zone.
Kurduvadi Junction is a railway station located in Solapur district in the Indian state of Maharashtra and serves Kurduvadi. It is a junction station at the intersection point of Mumbai–Chennai line and Latur road–Miraj line. Kurduvadi Workshop is located next to the station.
The Solapur–Guntakal section is part of the Mumbai–Chennai line. It connects Solapur in the Indian state of Maharashtra and Guntakal in Andhra Pradesh.
Vijayapura railway station, formerly Bijapur railway station is a railway station under South Western Railway located at Vijayapura in Vijayapura district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is an "A" Category ISO 14001- 2015 certified Station on (10.02.2020).
Guntakal–Renigunta section connects Guntakal and Renigunta in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is administered under Guntakal railway division of South Central Railway zone. It has a total route length of 309.50 km (192.31 mi).
The Chennai Central – Bangalore City line is an electrified railway double line which connects Chennai and Bengaluru, the two largest cities in South India. It is officially known as Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station–Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna line, and earlier known as Madras–Bangalore line.
The Chennai Egmore–Thanjavur main line connects Chennai Egmore and Thanjavur Junction both in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Chennai Egmore–Thanjavur main line is part of Chennai–Viluppuram–Chidambaram-Mayiladuthurai–Kumbakonam–Thanjavur–Tiruchirappalli line. There are several branch lines : Chengalpattu–Arakkonam links to Chennai Central–Bengaluru City line, Guntakal–Chennai Egmore section, Viluppuram–Puducherry, Cuddalore–Virudhachalam, Mayiladuthurai–Thiruvarur, and Peralam–Nagapattinam sectors. The line connects the Kaveri delta to Chennai.
Thanjavur Junction is a junction railway station in Thanjavur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and serves Thanjavur, earlier known as Tanjore.
The Mumbai–Chennai line, earlier known as Bombay–Madras line, is a railway line connecting Chennai and Mumbai cutting across southern part of the Deccan Plateau. It covers a distance of 1,281 kilometres (796 mi) across Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The Mumbai–Chennai line is a part of Diamond Quadrilateral.