 Salem Junction railway station, Headquarters Salem railway division | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Salem |
| Locale | Tamil Nadu, India |
| Dates of operation | 14 November 2006– |
| Predecessor | Southern Railways |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge |
| Previous gauge | Broad gauge and Meter gauge |
| Length | 862 km (536 mi) |
| Other | |
| Website | Southern Railways - Salem railway division |
Salem division is one of the six divisions of Southern Railway zone. Its headquarters is at Salem, Tamil Nadu.
Salem Railway Division is the newest division of the Southern Railway Zone of Indian Railways. It was carved out of the Palakkad railway division and Tiruchirappalli railway division. It was inaugurated on 14 November 2006 in the presence of Arjun Singh and the then chief minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi. [1]
Coimbatore junction is the busiest railway station in this division and accounts for 45% of the revenues. Coimbatore junction is classified under NSG-2 and it has 35,000 footfall per day. Salem, Erode and Karur are the other important junctions, while Erode handles most of the crew change in the route. Tiruppur is an important station in Salem division that handles a significant volume of agricultural commodities, textile products and machinery, which contribute an abundant profit in the freight segment.
Salem division has its jurisdiction entirely in the state of Tamil Nadu. It covers 15 districts in Tamil Nadu and has a total route length of 862 km (536 mi), [2] [3] Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Karur and Namakkal being the important district Headquarters.
Salem division jurisdiction includes the following:
There is a Diesel as well as an Electric Loco shed in Erode. Both the loco sheds provide locomotives to Southern Railways and South Western Railways.
One Meter Gauge loco shed is situated at Coonoor to facilitate Nilgiri Mountain Railway.
The pit lines for maintenance of passenger coaches are at Coimbatore, Erode, Mettupalayam and Coonoor.
Salem division handles many long-distance and interstate trains. Coimbatore coaching complex is the most important in Salem division and it is congested due to the huge volume of trains.
The famous Nilgiri Mountain Railway heritage line is under Salem division. The scenic line starts from Mettupalayam and ends at Ooty. The section from Mettupalayam to Coonoor is hauled by a Steam locomotive. A YDM-4 Diesel engine is attached at Coonoor for the further journey till Ooty. Between Mettupalayam and Coonoor, the line uses the Abt rack and pinion system to climb the steep gradient. The NMR is the only rack railway in India. The average gradient in this rack section is 1 in 24.5 (4.08%), with a maximum of 1 in 12 (8.33%). Even though the NMR supplies networked computerized ticketing systems for onward journeys, it still issues Edmondson style manual tickets for the Udhagamandalam-Mettupalayam journey to preserve its 'World Heritage Site' status. Ticket booking is similar to conventional trains and can be done via the Indian Railway website. It is advisable to book tickets well in advance, especially during peak season.
The medical department comprises two sub Divisional hospitals – Erode and Podanur. It also four Health Units at Coonoor, Mettupalayam, Salem and Karur. At present proposals have gone to Railway Board for approval of a multi specialty sub divisional hospital at Erode.
It is one of the 73 stations in Tamil Nadu to be named for upgradation under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme of Indian Railways. [4]
45 crore rupees have been allocated for the renovation work of Salem railway station under the Amrit Bharat scheme. [5]
The Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) is a 1,000 mmmetre gauge railway in Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu, India, built by the British in 1908. The railway is operated by the Southern Railway and is the only rack railway in India.
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.
The Nilgiri Express is a night express train service operating between Chennai Central and Mettupalayam, Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, India. It is operated by Indian Railways.
Erode Junction railway station is an NSG–3 category Indian railway station in Salem railway division of Southern Railway zone. It is the main railway junction serving the city of Erode, Tamil Nadu, India. Erode Junction is one of the major railway Junction in Southern Railway zone of the Indian Railways and is located 3 km away from Erode Central Bus Terminus. There is an ISO certified diesel locomotive shed and an electric loco shed attached with Erode Junction.
Coimbatore Junction Railway Station is a railway station located in Coimbatore in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the major rail-head in the city and comes under the jurisdiction of Salem railway division of Southern Railway zone. It is one of the busiest and highest revenue generating stations in India. The station lies on the Jolarpettai–Shoranur main line and has six side platforms.
Erode city being the headquarters of Erode district, in Tamil Nadu, India, has an extensive road and rail transport network in all radial directions, as it lies landlocked.
Chennai Central–Thiruvananthapuram Central Mail is a daily Superfast Express mail train running between Thiruvananthapuram and Chennai Central under Southern Railway zone that connects the Capital city of Tamil Nadu with the Capital City of Kerala. It is one of the prestigious train of the Indian Railways. This train runs via Kottayam. This train connects Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram along with six big cities in South India – Salem, Erode, Coimbatore, Thrissur, Kochi and Kottayam.
Tamil Nadu, a state in South India, has a developed, dense, and modern transportation infrastructure, encompassing both public and private transport. Its capital city Chennai is well-connected by land, sea, and air and serves as a major hub for entry into South India.
Palakkad railway division is one of the six administrative divisions of the Southern Railway zone of Indian Railways. It is headquartered at city of Palakkad, Kerala. It is the smallest railway division in Southern Railway. It was formed by dissolving the Podanur division. Managing 588 route kilometers of track in the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Mahé, it is one of the oldest railway divisions in India and had a route connectivity of nearly 1,247 km before the formation of current Thiruvananthapuram and Salem divisions. The terminal facility of Palakkad division is situated in Shoranur Junction & Mangalore Central of Karnataka state.
Podanur Junction railway station is an NSG–5 category Indian railway station in Salem railway division of Southern Railway zone. It is a railway station in Podanur, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.
Mettupalayam railway station is an NSG–4 category Indian railway station in Salem railway division of Southern Railway zone. It is a railway station located in Mettupalayam, a suburb of Coimbatore district in the Indian state Tamil Nadu. It is one of the important railway stations located in the Coimbatore District, because the Nilgiri Mountain Railway to the hill station of Ooty starts from here. It is the connection between the metre-gauge Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the broad-gauge main network of Indian Railways. It recently celebrated its 150th anniversary.
The Jolarpettai–Shoranur line is a 5 ft 6 in broad gauge railway line connecting Jolarpettai in Tamil Nadu and Shoranur in Kerala. Incoming from Chennai, the railway line branches from the Chennai Central–Bangalore City line at Jolarpettai and proceeds towards Shoranur before further radiating out.
Coimbatore or Kovai is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the second largest city and urban agglomeration in the state after Chennai and the sixteenth largest urban agglomeration in India. It is administered by the Coimbatore Municipal Corporation and is the administrative capital of Coimbatore district. It is one of the fastest growing tier-II cities in India and a major textile, industrial, commercial, educational, information technology, healthcare and manufacturing hub of Tamil Nadu. It is often referred to as the "Manchester of South India" due to its cotton production and textile industries.
This is the timeline for Southern Railway zone that encompasses over present day Tamil Nadu, Kerala and parts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
Electric Loco Shed, Erode is one of the premiere engine sheds located in Erode in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located along the Jolarpettai–Coimbatore line, about 1 km to the east of Erode Junction, under the administrative control of Salem railway division of Southern Railway zone.
The 12083/12084 Mayiladuthurai–Coimbatore Jan Shatabdi Express is a Jan Shatabdi Express train connecting Mayiladuthurai Junction and Coimbatore Junction in Tamil Nadu, India. The passenger service is one among the twenty Jan Shatabdi Express trains in India other than Chennai Central–Vijayawada Jan Shatabdi Express that runs within Tamil Nadu.
Coimbatore Broad Gauge Metro Railway Cum Coimbatore Suburban Railway or Kovai Metro Cum Suburban Railway is a Broad Gauge Metro Cum Suburban railway planned for Coimbatore city. The circular railway line will help run through Coimbatore Junction, Podanur, Vellalore, Irugur, Singanallur, Pilamedu and Coimbatore North. This will certainly help decongest the city roads since this circular line passes through the main parts of Coimbatore city and ends within the coimbatore city limits, so this circular line is an urban line. Restoration of old Main Line Nanjundapuram Railway link line lengths 1 km will help plan circular urban electric train track. A senior official with the Salem division says, "if the revival of an old line can bring about so many benefits, it can be considered". However, Implementation of this project gets delayed due to the Proposed Coimbatore Metro.
The Coimbatore–Mettupalayam branch line connects Coimbatore Junction and Mettupalayam in Tamil Nadu.
The Chennai Central–Nagercoil Superfast Express is a Superfast train belonging to Southern Railway zone that runs between Chennai Central and Nagercoil in India. It is currently being operated with 12689/12690 train numbers on a weekly basis.
Electric Loco Shed, Arakkonam is a motive power depot performing locomotive maintenance and repair facility for electric locomotives of the Indian Railways, located at Arrakkonam on the Guntakal–Chennai Egmore section of the Southern Railway zone in Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the three electric locomotive sheds of the Southern Railway, the others being at Erode (ED) and Royapuram (RPM) and is the oldest in south India.