Southern Railway Chennai India



Chennai, the capital of the Indian State of Tamil Nadu, serves as the headquarters of Southern Railway, a division of Indian Railways. The Southern Railway is the oldest of the 16 railway zones that form the Indian Railways network.

About Southern Railway Chennai India

The Southern Railway was established on April 14, 1951. It was a result of a unification of three state railways and they were the South Indian Railway Company, Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway, and the Mysore State Railway.
Initially, the South Indian Railway was established during the period of the British rule in the form of Great Southern India Railway Company. In 1853, it was formed in Great Britain and incorporated in 1859. Previously, the head office of the South Indian Railway was based in Trichy or Tiruchirappalli. In the year of 1890, it was incorporated in the form of a company in London.

The headquarters of Southern Railway are located in Chennai. The railway network can be divided into the six divisions given below:

Madurai, Chennai, Salem, Tiruchirappalli, Thiruvananthapuram, and Palakkad. The railway network encompasses the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and certain areas of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

Over 500 million commuters use this railway network annually. The Salem Division is the fourth biggest among all the divisions of Southern Railway. Plans have been laid out to improve stations like Coimbatore, Chennai (Egmore), Salem, Erode, Madurai, Tiruchirapalli, Palakkad, Tirunelveli, and Thiruvananthapuram.
The following railway stations have been planned to be elevated to global standards:
Ernakulam Junction, Chennai Central, Calicut (Kozhikode), and Trivandrum Central.

Trains of Southern Railway

Given below is a list of the trains of Southern Railway:

  • 2615/16 Grand Trunk Express
  • 2621/22 Tamil Nadu Express, Rajdhani Expresses, Chennai - Delhi Duronto Express - started on September 21, 2009, Brindavan Express, Garib Rath Expresses
  • 12637/38 Pandian Express
  • 12631/32 Nellai Express
  • 16177/78 Rockfort Express
  • 12693/94 Pearl City Express
  • 12617/18 Mangala Lakshadweep Express
  • 12625/26 Kerala Express, Navyug Express
  • 16317/18 Himsagar Express
  • 12651/52 Tamil Nadu Sampark Kranti Express
  • 12641/42 Thirukkural Express
  • 16041/42 Alleppey Express
  • 16031/32 Andaman Express
  • 12673/74 Cheran Express
  • 12671/72 Nilgiri Express also named as Blue Mountain Express
  • 12677/78/79/80 Intercity expresses
  • 12675/76 Kovai Express, 12647/48 Kongu Express
  • 12633/34 Kanyakumari Express
  • 16609/10 Nagercoil Express
  • 16613/14 Rajkot Express
  • 12661/62 Pothigai Express
  • 16303/04 Vanchinad Express
  • 16713/14 Sethu Express
  • 16101/02 Boatmail Express
  • 12635/36 Vaigai Express
  • 12605/06 Pallavan Express
  • 12601/02 Mangalore Mail
  • 16627/28 West Coast Express
  • 16089/16090 Yelagiri Express
  • 16669/70 Yercaud Express
  • 16349/16350 Parasuram Express
  • 16301/16302 Venad Express
  • 12619/20 Matshyagandha Express
  • 12083/4, 12075/6 JanShatabthi Express
  • 56606/56607/56608/56609 Cochin-Shoranur Passenger
  • 16865/16866 Tea Garden Express
  • 16179/80 Mannai Express (operating from September 27, 2011)
  • Shoranur - Nilambur Road Passenger
  • 16175/76 Kamban Express (Ceased due to gauge switch).

The Southern Railway Zone of the Indian Railways is not similar to the other zones in the country since the income is generated from commuters and not cargo.

The two most money-making stations in the Southern Railway Division are Trivandrum Central and Chennai Central. Other profit-making itineraries include:

  • Chennai Egmore Station - Viluppuram - Trichy (Tiruchirappalli) - Dindigul - Madurai - Tirunelveli - Nagercoil
  • Chennai Central Station - Arakkonam - Katpadi - Salem - Erode - Coimbatore Junction
  • Mangalore Central - Calicut - Shornur Junction
  • Coimbatore Junction - Thrissur - Ernakulam Junction - Trivandrum Central
The major part of this railway zone comprises broad gauge lines and just a minor part is served by meter gauge lines. Plans are on to switch all the meter gauge lines to broad gauge lines.

Chennai Central Railway Station

The Chennai Central station manages 10 lakh commuters on a daily basis. It is the principal railway terminus in Chennai or erstwhile Madras and the most significant railway station in the entire South India.

Tambaram and Chennai Egmore are the two other important railway stations in Chennai.

Trains are available from Chennai Central to major cities and locations in India such as New Delhi, Lucknow, Bhopal, Mumbai, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Patna, Bangalore, Kolkata, Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), and so on. The terminus also functions as the principal administrative center of the Chennai Suburban Railway network. The structure of the railway station, one of the major milestones of the city, was planned by Henry Irwin, the famous Irish architect. The station offers a number of facilities like restaurants, bookshops, cyber café, accommodation, and a shopping center for necessary commodities.

Trains from/to Chennai Central

Given below is a list of the trains that depart from or arrive at Chennai Central Railway Station:

Chennai New Delhi Tamil Nadu Express, Chennai New Delhi The Grand Trunk Express, Chennai H. Nizamudin Garib Rath, Chennai H. Nizamudin Rajdhani Express, Chennai Mumbai Mumbai Express, Chennai Mumbai Mumbai Mail, Chennai Howrah Howrah Mail, Chennai Howrah Coromandel Express, Chennai Coimbatore Cheran Express, Chennai Coimbatore Intercity Express, Chennai Coimbatore Duronto Express, Chennai Coimbatore Kovai Express, Chennai Mettupalayam (Coimbatore) Nilgiri Express, Chennai Coimbatore Coimbatore Express, Chennai Mangalore Central Mangalore Mail, Chennai Mangalore Central West Coast Express, Chennai Ahmedabad Navjivan Express, Chennai Mangalore Central Superfast Express, Chennai Tirupati Saptagiri Express, Chennai Chapra Ganga Kaveri Express, Chennai Tirupati Garudadiri Express, Chennai Hyderabad Charminar Express, Chennai Tirupati Tirupati Express, Chennai Erode Yercaud Express, Chennai Hyderabad Hyderabad Express, Chennai Bangalore Lal Bagh Express, Chennai Bangalore Brindavan Express, Chennai Bangalore Shatabdi Express, Chennai Bangalore Bangalore Mail, Chennai Satya Sai Prasanthi Nilayam Satya Sai Prasanthi Nilayam Express, Chennai Bangalore Bangalore Express, Chennai Mysore Kaveri Express, Chennai Mysore Shatabdi Express, Chennai Trivandrum Trivandrum Mail, Chennai Alapuzha Alleppey Express, Chennai Trivandrum Trivandum Express, Chennai Trivandrum Superfast Express, Chennai Jammutawi Andaman Express, Chennai Tirupattur Yelagiri Express, Chennai Vijayawada Pinakini Express, Chennai Dehradun Dehradun Express, Chennai Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar Express, Chennai Vijayawada Jan Shatabdi Express, Chennai Lucknow Lucknow Express, Chennai Jaipur Jaipur Express, Chennai Hubli Hubli Express, Chennai Vasco da Gama, Goa Vasco Express, Chennai Yeswantpur Yeswantpur Express, Chennai Nagercoil Nagercoil Express, Chennai Bilaspur Bilaspur Express, and Chennai Haldia Haldia Express.

Trains that pass through Chennai Central

Given below are the names of the trains that pass through the Chennai Central Station:

Gorakhpur-Trivandrum/Barauni-Ernakulam Raptisagar Express, Indore - Trivandrum Ahilyanagari Express, Coimbatore - Jaipur Express, Trivandrum - Falaknuma Express, Trivandrum - Guwahati Express, Ernakulam - Guwahati Express, Bangalore - Rajendra Nagar (Patna) Sangamithra Express, Bangalore - Guwahati Express, Ernakulam - Patna Express, Muzaffarpur - Yeswantpur Express, Dhanbad - Alappuzha Express, Trivandrum - Howrah (Shalimar) Express, Trivandrum - Korba Express, and Bangalore-Balugaon Bagmati Express.



Last Updated on 2/15/2012