Southern Railway zone

Coordinates: 13°04′57″N 80°16′37″E / 13.08240°N 80.27705°E / 13.08240; 80.27705

Southern Railway

Southern Railway-7
Southern Railway headquarters, Chennai
Locale	Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Puducherry
Dates of operation	1951 (1951)–
Predecessor	South Indian Railway Company Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway Mysore State Railway
Track gauge	Broad gauge and Metre gauge
Electrification	Yes
Length	6,844 kilometres (4,253 mi)[1]
Headquarters	Chennai Central
Website	SR official website

The Southern Railway, headquartered at Chennai Central, is one of the 17 zones of Indian Railways. It is the earliest of the 17 zones of the Indian Railways created in independent India. It 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. The South Indian Railway was originally created in the British colonial times as Great Southern India Railway Co founded in Britain in 1853 and registered in 1859. Its original headquarters was in Tiruchirappalli (Trichy) and was registered as a company in London only in 1890.^[2]

History

In 1944, all Railway companies were taken over by the Government. And three years later, when India woke up to independence in 1947, the stage was set for the integration of different Railways into smaller zones. In 1948, immediately after independence, there were as many as 42 different railway systems - a multiplicity of railway administrations, varying in size and standards.

The regrouping proposals put forward by the various committees were studied in great detail to ensure that a unification could be achieved with the least disturbance and dislocation. Important associations of railway-users, Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the State Governments and acknowledged experts both in India and abroad were fully consulted.

Shri N Gopalaswamy Ayyangar - the then Minister for Railways, was the principal architect of the regrouping of Indian Railways. In December 1950, the Central Advisory Committee for Railways approved the plan for Indian Railways into six Zonal systems, namely, the Northern, the North-Eastern, the Southern, the Central, the Eastern and the Western.

The Southern Railway zone 9,654 kilometres (5,999 mi) was the first zone to be formed.^[3] Created on 14 April 1951 by the merger of the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway, the South Indian Railway and the Mysore State Railway, the economic and geographical factors of this zone facilitated an early integrated network. This amalgamation was a major step towards streamlining and organizing the working pattern of the Railway system.

Shri K R Ramanujam was appointed the first General Manager of the newly formed Southern Railway.

Organisation

The Southern Railway is headed by the General Manager (HAG+) Officer, assisted by an Additional General Manager (HAG). Each department is headed by a PHOD\CHOD of the rank of HAG\SAG.

Jurisdiction

Southern Railway has its headquarters in Chennai Central and has the following six divisions:

1. Chennai
2. Madurai
3. Palakkad
4. Thiruvananthapuram
5. Tiruchirappalli
6. Salem

It covers the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry and small portions of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. More than 50 crore passengers travel on the network every year. This zone of the Indian Railways differs from the other zones of India in that its revenue is derived from passengers and not from freight.^[4]

Infrastructure

Assets

Southern Railway has many factories & sheds:

• Mechanical Workshops
  • Carriage, Wagon and Loco Works, Perambur, Chennai
  • Central Workshop, Ponmalai, Tiruchirapalli
• Electrical & Communication
  • Southern Railway Signal & Telecom Workshop, Podanur, Coimbatore
• Sheds
  • Locomotive Sheds
    • Diesel
      • Diesel Loco Shed, Golden Rock, Tiruchirapalli
      • Diesel Loco Shed, Tondiarpet, Chennai
      • Diesel Loco Shed, Erode
      • Diesel Loco Shed, Ernakulam
    • Electrical
      • Electrical Loco Shed, Arakkonam
      • Electrical Loco Shed, Erode
      • Electrical Loco Shed, Royapuram, Chennai
    • Steam Loco Shed
      • Coonoor, The Nilgiris
  • MEMU Car Shed
    • MEMU Car Shed, Kollam
    • MEMU Car Shed, Palakkad
  • EMU Car Shed
    • EMU Car Shed, Avadi
    • EMU Car Shed, Tambaram
    • EMU Car Shed,Velachery
  • BG Coaching Maintenance Depots
    • Basin Bridge, Chennai
    • Egmore, Chennai
    • Madurai
    • Salem
    • Erode
    • Coimbatore
    • Mettupalayam
    • Shoranur
    • Mangaluru central
    • Thiruvananthapuram
    • Ernakulam
    • Kollam
    • Tirunelveli
    • Nagercoil
    • Rameswaram
    • Thoothukudi
    • Tiruchirapalli
    • Viluppuram
  • Wagon Maintenance Depots
    • Tondiarpet, Chennai
    • Egmore, Chennai
    • Madurai
    • Jolarpettai
    • Kochi Harbour
    • Arakkonam
    • Royapuram, Chennai
    • Pattibiram Military Siding
    • Erode
    • Mangaluru junction
    • Ernakulam
    • Milavittan
    • Irumpanam
    • Tiruchirapalli
    • Viluppuram
    • Uthagamandalam
• Printing Presses
  • General Printing Press, Royapuram, Chennai
  • Ticket Printing Factory, Thiruvananthapuram,
  • Ticket Printing Factory, Tiruchirappalli

Rail transport

Surveys

New Lines

Gauge Conversion

Doubling

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Southern Railway Zone, India.

• Southern Railway official website

Railways in Southern India
National network / trunk lines	Howrah–Chennai main line New Delhi–Chennai main line Mumbai–Chennai line
Other lines / sections	Chennai Central–Bangalore City line Chennai Egmore–Thanjavur main line Chord Line Coimbatore–Shoranur railway line Gudivada–Bhimavaram section Gudivada–Machilipatnam branch line Guntakal–Chennai Egmore section Guntur–Macherla section Guntur–Repalle section Jolarpettai–Shoranur line Kazipet–Vijayawada section Kollam–Sengottai branch line Kollam–Thiruvananthapuram trunk line Khurda Road–Visakhapatnam section Kothavalasa–Kirandul line Manamadurai–Virudhunagar line Mysore–Bangalore railway line Mysore–Chamarajanagar branch line Nagpur–Hyderabad line Nilambur–Nanjangud rail line (Proposed) Nilambur–Shoranur railway line Nilgiri Mountain Railway Palakkad–Pollachi line Pagidipalli–Nallapadu railway line Peralam–Karaikal line Sabari railway line (Proposed) Shimoga–Talaguppa railway Shoranur–Cochin Harbour section Shoranur–Mangalore section Solapur–Guntakal section Vijayawada–Chennai section Vijayawada–Guntur section Visakhapatnam–Vijayawada section Ernakulam–Kayamkulam coastal railway line Guntakal–Vasco da Gama section Pune–Miraj–Londa line Bangalore–Arsikere–Hubli line Pamban–Dhanushkodi branch line (Defunct)
Urban and suburban rail transport	Chennai Chennai Suburban Railway Chennai Mass Rapid Transit System Chennai Metro Hyderabad Multi-Modal Transport System Hyderabad Metro Rail Bangalore Bangalore Commuter Rail Namma Metro Kochi Kochi Metro
Monorails	Bangalore Chennai Coimbatore Kozhikode Tiruchirappalli Thiruvananthapuram
Defunct railways	Cochin State Forest Tramway Kundala Valley Railway
Railway divisions	Bangalore Chennai Bangalore Hubli Madurai Mysore Palakkad Salem Thiruvananthapuram Tiruchirappalli
Named trains	Ahilya Nagari Express Ajmer–Hyderabad Meenakshi Express Andaman Express Amritha Express Anantapuri Express Andhra Pradesh Express Bangalore City–Ernakulam Intercity Express Bangalore Rajdhani Express Bhagmati Express Brindavan Express Chalukya Express Chamundi Express Charminar Express Chemmozhi Express Chennai Rajdhani Express Chennai–Alleppey Express Chennai Central–Coimbatore Shatabdi Express Chennai Hazrat Nizamuddin Duronto Express Chennai–Jaipur Express Chennai–Madurai Duronto Express Chennai–Mysore Shatabdi Express Chennai Thiruvananthapuram AC Duronto Express Chennai Egmore–Mangalore Central Express Chennai Central–Vijayawada Jan Shatabdi Express Cheran Express Cholan Express Circar Express Cocanada AC Express Coimbatore–Chennai Express Coimbatore–Jaipur Express Coimbatore–Nagercoil Express Coimbatore–Tuticorin Link Express Coimbatore–Rameswaram Express Coromandel Express Ernad Express Ernakulam–H.Nizamudin Duronto Falaknuma Express Ganga Kaveri Express Godavari Express Gol Gumbaz Express Golconda Express Golden Chariot Goutami Express Grand Trunk Express Guruvayur Express Hampi Express Himsa Express Himsagar Express Hirakud Express Howrah–Chennai Mail Howrah–Kanyakumari Express Hussainsagar Express Hyderabad–Pune Express Indore–Yesvantpur Express Island Express Janmabhoomi Express Kanyakumari Express Kanyakumari–Mumbai Express Kaveri Express Kerala Express Krishna Express Kollam–Visakhapatnam Express Kongu Express Kovai Express Lal Bagh Express Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Ernakulam Duronto Express Malabar Express Mangala Lakshadweep Express Mangalore Yaswanthpur Express Manikarnika Express Mannai express Marusagar Express Matsyaganda Express Maveli Express Mayiladuthurai–Mysore Express Mumbai CST Chennai Express Mysore–Tuticorin Express Nagarjuna Express Nagercoil Passenger Nagavali Express Narayanadri Express Navjivan Express Navyug Express Nellai Express Netravati Express Nilgiri Express Pallavan Express Pandian Express Parasuram Express Pearl City Express Pinakini Express Poorna Express Pothigai Express Pune–Ernakulam Express Rajkot–Coimbatore Express Rani Chennamma Express Raptisagar Express Rockfort Express Sabari Express Samata Express Sanghamithra Express Satavahana Express Secunderabad Hazrat Nizamuddin Duronto Express Secunderabad Rajdhani Express Secunderabad Mumbai Duronto Express Sharavati Express Sethu Express Silambu Express Simhapuri Express Tamil Nadu Express Tea Garden Express Thirukural Express Tippu Express Tirumala Express Tiruchirappalli–Howrah Superfast Express Tiruchirappalli–Mayiladuthurai Express Tiruchirappalli–Tirunelveli Intercity Express Thiruvananthapuram Mail Thiruvananthapuram–Indore Express Thiruvananthapuram Rajdhani Express Udyan Express Uzhavan Express Vanchinad Express Venad Express Visakha Express Visakhapatnam–Secunderabad Duronto Express Visakhapatnam–Secunderabad Garib Rath Express West coast express Yesvantpur Puducherry Garib Rath Express Yelagiri express Yercaud Express
Manufacturing units / workshops / sheds	Integral Coach Factory Rail Wheel Factory Golden Rock Railway Workshop Diesel Loco Shed, Golden Rock Kollam MEMU Shed
Railway zones	South Central Railway Southern Railway South Western Railway
Railway companies	Konkan Railway Corporation Kerala Monorail Corporation East Coast State Railway Nizam's Guaranteed State Railway Hyderabad–Godavari Valley Railways Madras Railway Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway
Agitations and accidents	1928 South Indian railway strike 1932 Madras and Southern Mahratta railway strike 1974 railway strike in India 1988 Kollam Peruman train accident Nellore train fire
See also	Indian Railways Bholu (mascot) Transport in Guntur Madras Time Thiruvananthapuram–Mangalore high-speed passenger corridor Annual passenger earnings details of railway stations in Kerala
Railways in India portal