Chennai Egmore railway station

Chennai Egmore

Chennai Elumbur
Chennai Egmore railway station
General information
LocationGandhi-Irwin Road, Egmore, Chennai
Coordinates13°04′41″N 80°15′42″E / 13.0780°N 80.2616°E / 13.0780; 80.2616
Elevation8 m (26 ft)
System
Owned byMinistry of Railways
Lines
Platforms11
Tracks12
Connections Green Line Egmore
Construction
Structure typeAt-grade
Platform levels1
ParkingAvailable
AccessibleYes
Architect
Architectural style
Other information
StatusActive
Station codeMS[1]
Zone(s) Southern Railway zone
Division(s) Chennai
History
Opened1880 (1880) (station)
11 June 1908 (11 June 1908) (terminal building)
Electrified1931
Original companySouth Indian Railway
Services
per day (2022)
Location
Chennai Egmore
Location in Chennai
Chennai Egmore
Location in Tamil Nadu
Chennai Egmore
Location in India

Chennai Egmore (also known as Chennai Elumbur, formerly Madras Egmore) (station code: MS), is a major railway station in Chennai, India. It is classified as a NSG–1 category station and comes under the purview of the Chennai railway division of the Southern Railway zone of the Indian Railways.[2] It is situated in the neighbourhood of Egmore, with the main entrance situated on Gandhi-Irwin road and the rear entrance on Poonamallee high road. It caters to inter-city express trains, multiple units, and suburban services.

The station served as the terminus of the South Indian Railway Company in Madras since the 1880s. The construction of the terminal building began in September 1905 and it was officially opened on 11 June 1908. The building is built in Indo Saracenic style. In 1951, the station became part of the Southern Railway zone of the Indian Railways.

History

The site of the railway station hosted a fortified redoubt in the early 18th century, and later housed a sanatorium, and an orphanage in the mid 18th century. By the late 19th century, part of the land was owned by Pulney Andy (1831–1909), one of the first Indians to earn a medical degree in the United Kingdom.[3][4] The South Indian Railway (SIR) was established in 1874 through the amalgamation of three railway companies that existed in the Madras Presidency. Egmore became the company's terminus in Madras by the 1880s. An increase in traffic led to plans for the construction of a full-fledged terminus in the early 1900s.[3] The station was planned on a 2.5 acres (1.0 ha) plot of land, of which 1.8 acres (0.73 ha) was owned by Andy. After initial reluctance, Andy sold the land for approximately ₹0.1 million (equivalent to ₹45 million or US$530,000 in 2023) in 1904.[3][5]

The terminal building was designed by British architects Henry Irwin and E. C. Bird. It measured 300 ft (91 m) by 70 ft (21 m), and was constructed by T. Samynada Pillai. The construction of the station began in September 1905 and was completed in 1908 at a cost of ₹1.7 million (equivalent to ₹450 million or US$5.4 million in 2023).[3][5][6] The station was opened to the public on 11 June 1908, and initially relied on diesel generators for electricity.[7][8][9] The station underwent developments in 1930, and became part of the first electrified suburban line established in 1931.[3][7][10] A signal cabin at the station was opened in 1935, after the suburban line between Madras Beach and Tambaram was electrified.[11] After the nationalisation of the railways in 1951, the station became part of the Southern Railway zone of the Indian Railways, and emerged as a major terminal for trains to the south of the state.[3][5] The station was expanded in 1980, and the tracks were converted into broad gauge in 1998.[12] The suburban trains continued to operate on meter gauge until 2004 when a new suburban terminal was added to the station.[3][5] In 2006, a second entrance was established on the Poonamallee High road at a cost of ₹115.3 million (equivalent to ₹370 million or US$4.4 million in 2023).[6][13] In 2013, ballast-less tracks were laid along the terminus.[14] In the early 2020s, it was one of the stations selected for upgradation under the Amrit Bharat scheme of the Indian Railways,[15] and underwent major renovation as a part of the scheme.[16]

Design

The station lies on a 2.5 acres (1.0 ha) plot of land on Gandhi-Irwin road in Egmore.[3] It is situated between two flyovers on either side of the road.[7] The station building is spread over 135,406 m2 (1,457,500 sq ft), and was designed in Gothic and Indo-Saracenic architecture with elements of Dravidian architecture. It was notable for early use of concrete during the construction.[3][16] The building had a three-span roof structure, with a large dome atop of it. It had carved motifs on the pillars and brackets, which were based on Dravidian temple architecture. The building has been constructed using brick, granite, and sandstone, which gives contrasting appearance.[17] The building had stained glass windows and was earlier equipped with wooden stairways to move across platforms.[3]

Network and services

The station is classified as a NSG–1 category station and comes under the purview of the Chennai railway division of the Southern Railway zone of the Indian Railways.[18] It is located on the Chennai Egmore–Thanjavur main line.[19] It also forms part of the South Line of the Chennai suburban rail network that extends from Chennai Beach towards Tambaram.[20] As of 2022, the station handles about 120 Mail/Express trains and 442 Suburban/Multiple Units daily.[16][21] While the station serves as a major terminus for trains operating towards the central and southern Tamil Nadu, a few services operate from the station to other destinations in India, by connecting with the Gudur–Chennai section of the Howrah–Chennai main line via Chennai Beach station.[6][22][23] Beginning in the early 2010s, Indian Railways terminated few of the services at Tambaram railway station to reduce congestion at the station.[24]

Facilities

There are 11 platforms in the station.[5][25] In 2019–20, platforms five to nine were extended.[26] The station has a train care centre attached to it, which houses the trains terminating at the station.[27] There are 16 air-conditioned dormitories, 14 retiring rooms, and three waiting halls for passengers.[26]

In April 2012, the Government Railway Police and the Railway Protection Force released a plan in which a helpline was launched and the station was divided into three sectors, for the deployment of security personnel.[28] The station has an Integrated Security Surveillance System implemented in 2012, which consists of a set of CCTV cameras installed around the station.[29] The station has been divided into two zones for cleaning and maintenance–the first six platforms fall under zone I and the remaining platforms fall under zone II.[30]

Connectivity

There is a bus shelter at the southern entrance at the Gandhi-Irwin road and a bus terminus near the northern entrance on the Poonamallee High road. Bus services are operated by the state-run Metropolitan Transport Corporation. There is a multi-storey parking lot attached to the station.[26][31] Pre-paid taxi and autorickshaw services are also available from the station.[32] The Egmore metro station on the Green Line of the Chennai Metro serves the station.[33]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Station Code Index" (PDF). Centre For Railway Information Systems. 2023–24. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2024. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Southern Railway List of Stations" (PDF). Centre For Railway Information Systems. 1 April 2023. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 March 2024. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j V, Sriram (25 November 2014). "Chennai Landmark – The Egmore Station". Madras Musings. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  4. ^ Muthiah, S. (27 October 2012) [19 September 2010]. "Whither this National Library?". The Hindu. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d e Pain, Paromita (27 June 2008). "Heritage tracks". Business Line. Archived from the original on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  6. ^ a b c "Red-letter day for Southern Railway". The Hindu. 11 June 2008. Archived from the original on 13 June 2008. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  7. ^ a b c Muthiah, S. (16 June 2008). "Egmore and the South". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 20 June 2008. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  8. ^ Muthiah, S. (9 May 2010). "The railway of the Deep South". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 17 November 2010. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  9. ^ Krishnaswamy, Murali N. (17 June 2008). "Chugging on . . . a hundred years hence". The Hindu. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  10. ^ "Chennai division" (PDF). Southern Railway zone, Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  11. ^ Hinson, John. "Madras Egmore: South Indian Railway". The Signal Box. Archived from the original on 18 April 2002. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  12. ^ "One hundred years of tireless travel ... still chugging with charm". The Hindu. 7 June 2008. Archived from the original on 10 June 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  13. ^ Vydhianathan, S. (26 October 2004). "Second terminal at Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M. G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station proposed". The Hindu. Chennai. Archived from the original on 1 December 2004. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  14. ^ Ayyappan, V. (14 February 2013). "Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M. G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station, Chennai Egmore Railway Station to get washable tracks". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
  15. ^ "Amrit Bharat Stations". Press Information Bureau. 10 February 2023. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  16. ^ a b c "Chennai Egmore Redevelopment works move at swift pace". Indian Railways (Press release). 26 December 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  17. ^ "Egmore station then and now". Madras Musings. 16 March 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  18. ^ "Southern Railway List of Stations" (PDF). Centre For Railway Information Systems. 1 April 2023. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 March 2024. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  19. ^ "Southern Railway Route Map" (PDF). Southern Railway zone, Indian Railways. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  20. ^ "Chennai rail network" (PDF). Indiarailinfo. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  21. ^ Venugopal, Vasudha (5 February 2013). "Display boards at station fail to show the way". The Hindu. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  22. ^ "Train Timings at Chennai Egmore" (PDF). Southern Railway zone, Indian Railways. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
  23. ^ "Egmore to remain railway hub". The Hindu. 22 December 2011. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
  24. ^ Malavan, K. (20 January 2012). "Tambaram 3rd Rail Terminus update". The Hindu. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  25. ^ "Chennai Egmore". Indiarailinfo. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  26. ^ a b c "Egmore railway station to have better services for commuters". The New Indian Express. 26 November 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  27. ^ Ayyappan, V. (29 October 2012). "Passengers panic as pests overrun dirty train bogies". The Times of India. Retrieved 10 November 2012.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  28. ^ "Railway police launches two helplines". The Hindu. 1 May 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
  29. ^ "Chennai: Suburban railway stations to come under CCTV surveillance". IBN Live. 18 July 2012. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  30. ^ Varma, M. Dinesh (7 December 2012). "New agency undertakes cleaning of Egmore station". The Hindu. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  31. ^ Madhavan, D. (5 October 2019). "Whenners Road hit by 'pothole plague'". The Hindu. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  32. ^ Ayyappan, V. (1 August 2014). "One more prepaid autorickshaw counter opened at Egmore Railway Station". The Times of India. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  33. ^ "Chennai Metro Rail Line Map". Archived from the original on 13 July 2014.
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