- Chennai Central
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Chennai CentralIndian Railway Station
The Main Entrance of the StationLocation Coordinates 13.09°N 80.27°E City Chennai District Chennai State Tamil Nadu Elevation MSL + 20 ft Station Info & Facilities Station type Terminus Station Structure Standard (on ground station) Station status Functioning Other name(s) Madras Central. Parking Available Connections Taxi Stand, MTC Operation Code MAS Division(s) Chennai (Madras) Zone(s) Southern Railway Line(s) Chennai-Erode Junction
Chennai-Vijayawada JunctionTrack(s) 15 Platform(s) 15 History Opened 1853[1] Former Owner(s) Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway Electrified 1931 [2] Location on Map 
Chennai Central StationChennai Central Station (Chennai)Chennai Central (Tamil: சென்னை சென்ட்ரல்), erstwhile Madras Central, is the main railway terminus in the city of Chennai (Madras). It is the home of the Southern Railway and the most important rail hub in South India. The other major railway hub stations in the city are Chennai Egmore and Tambaram. Trains from here connect the city to New Delhi and prominent state capitals of India like Bhopal, Lucknow, Jaipur, Mumbai, Patna, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, and so forth. Chennai Central is also the main hub for the Chennai Suburban Railway system. The building of the railway station, one of the most prominent landmarks of Chennai, was designed by architect Henry Irwin.
This station is also noted for a whole range of amenities available within the premises. The station has book-shops, restaurants, accommodation, Internet browsing centers and even an essential commodities shopping mall. In 2005, the buildings were painted a creamy yellow colour, but concurring with the views of a campaign by the citizens of Chennai and also to retain the old nostalgic charm, they were repainted in their original brick-red color, which was how the buildings were built originally.
Chennai Central serves as a symbolic landmark for people in South India as this station served as the main gateway for all people who travelled to South India during the British times. Madras Central has been greatly instrumental in earning Chennai the famous sobriquet Gateway of the South. The entrance to this station and the adjacent suburban railway complex is on the arterial Poonamalee High Road in the city.
Contents
History
Madras Central was built in 1873 at Parktown as a second terminus to decongest the Royapuram harbour station which was being utilised for port movements. Built in the Gothic Revival style, the original station was designed by George Hardinge and consisted of just four platforms. The station was later modified with the addition of the central clock tower and other changes by Robert Fellowes Chisholm.[3] The redesign was eventually completed in 1900.
Madras Central gained prominence after the beach line was extended further south in 1907 and Royapuram was no longer a terminus for Madras.[4] All trains were then terminated at Madras Central instead and its position was further strengthened after the construction of the headquarters of the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway (erstwhile Madras Railway and now known as the Southern Railway (India)) adjacent to it in 1922.
Due to increasing passenger movement, the main building was extended with the addition of a new building on the western side with a similar architecture to the original.
Capacity at the station was further augmented after construction of the multistoreyed Moore Market Complex as a dedicated terminus for the Madras suburban railway system.
Southern Railway
Chennai is the headquarters of the Southern Railway zone of the Indian Railways.
Layout
The entire complex has 15 platforms to handle long distance trains with 3 platforms exclusively for suburban trains. The total length is about 950 m. The complex for suburban trains is popularly known as the Moore Market complex. There is a platform 2A between platforms 2 and 3; it is used to handle relatively short trains like the Rajadhani Express, Vijayawada Jan Shatabdi Express, Bangalore/Mysore Shatabdi Expresses and the Gudur Passenger.
Chennai Central used to have trains with special liveries until early 90's. The Brindavan Exp. used to have green livery with a yellow stripe running above and below the windows; Nilgiri Exp. (popularly known as Blue Mountain) had blue livery. All trains now have the standard blue livery (denoting Air-Braked bogies). Notable exceptions include the Rajadhani, Shatabdi and the Jan Shatabdi Express. The Saptagiri/Tirupati Expresses has a vivid green / cream livery combination with a matching WAM4 6PE loco from Arakkonam (AJJ) electric loco shed.
The building to the west of the railway station is the Ripon building, which houses the Chennai Corporation. To the east of the station lies the Southern Railway Headquarters.
Trains
Some of the trains from/to Chennai Central are:
No. Train No: Origin Destination Train Name 1. 12615/2616 Chennai New Delhi The Grand Trunk Express 2. 12621/2622 Chennai New Delhi Tamil Nadu Express 3. 12433/2434 Chennai H.Nizamudin Rajdhani Express 4. 12611/2612 Chennai H.Nizamudin Garib Rath 5. 11028/11027 Chennai Mumbai Mumbai Mail 6. 11042/11041 Chennai Mumbai Mumbai Express 7. 12842/12841 Chennai Howrah Coromandel Express 8. 12840/12839 Chennai Howrah Howrah Mail 9. 12679/12680 Chennai Coimbatore Intercity Express 10. 12673/12674 Chennai Coimbatore Cheran Express 11. 12675/12676 Chennai Coimbatore Kovai Express 12. 12243/12244 Chennai Coimbatore Duronto Express 13. 12681/12682 Chennai Coimbatore Coimbatore Express 14. 12671/12672 Chennai Mettupalayam(Coimbatore) Nilgiri Express 15. 16627/16628 Chennai Mangalore West Coast Express 16. 12601/12602 Chennai Mangalore Mangalore Mail 17. 12685/12686 Chennai Mangalore Superfast Express 18. 12656/12655 Chennai Ahmedabad Navjivan Express 19. 12669/12670 Chennai Chapra Ganga Kaveri Express 20. 16057/16058 Chennai Tirupati Saptagiri Express 21. 16053/16054 Chennai Tirupati Tirupati Express 22. 16203/16204 Chennai Tirupati Garudadiri Express 23. 12759/12760 Chennai Hyderabad Charminar Express 24. 12603/12604 Chennai Hyderabad Hyderabad Express 25. 16669/16670 Chennai Erode Yercaud Express 26. 12639/12640 Chennai Bangalore Brindavan Express 27. 12607/12608 Chennai Bangalore Lal Bagh Expres 28. 12657/12658 Chennai Bangalore Bangalore Mail 29. 12027/12028 Chennai Bangalore Shatabdi Express 30. 12609/12610 Chennai Bangalore Bangalore Express 31. 12691/12692 Chennai Satya Sai Prasanthi Nilayam Satya Sai Prasanthi Nilayam Express 32. 12007/12008 Chennai Mysore Shatabdi Express 33. 16222/16221 Chennai Mysore Kaveri Express 34. 16041/16042 Chennai Alapuzha Alleppey Express 35. 12623/12624 Chennai Trivandrum Trivandrum Mail 36. 12695/12696 Chennai Trivandrum Superfast Express 37. 12697/12698 Chennai Trivandrum Trivandum Express 38. 16089/16090 Chennai Tirupattur Yelagiri express 39. 16031/16032 Chennai Jammutawi Andaman Express 40. 12687/12688 Chennai Dehradun Dehradun Express 41. 12712/12711 Chennai Vijayawada Pinakini Express 42. 12077/12078 Chennai Vijayawada Jan Shatabdi Express 43. 12829/12830 Chennai Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar Express 44. 12967/12968 Chennai Jaipur Jaipur Express 45. 16093/16094 Chennai Lucknow Lucknow Express 46. 17311/17312 Chennai Vasco-da-gama Vasco Express 47. 17313/7314 Chennai Hubli Hubli Express 48. 12689/12690 Chennai Nagercoil Nagercoil Express 49. 12291/12292 Chennai Yeswantpur Yeswantpur Express 50. 12755/12756 Chennai Haldia Haldia Express 51. 12852/12851 Chennai Bilaspur Bilaspur Express Trains passing through Chennai Central
- Indore - Trivandrum Ahilyanagari Express
- Gorakhpur-Trivandrum/Barauni—Ernakulam Raptisagar Express
- Trivandrum - falknuma Express
- Coimbatore - Jaipur Express
- Ernakulam - Guwahati Express
- Trivandrum - Guwahati Express
- Bangalore - Guwahati Express
- Bangalore - Rajendra Nagar(Patna) Sangamithra Express
- Muzaffarpur - Yeswantpur Express
- Ernakulam - Patna Express
- Trivandrum - Howrah(Shalimar) Express
- Dhanbad - Alappuzha Express
- Bangalore-balugaon Bagmati Express
- Trivandrum - Korba Express
Gallery
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Inside the main station
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Side view of station extension that was added a few years back
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Panorama of Chennai Central
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The Main Entrance of The Station
References
- ^ [IRFCA] Indian Railways FAQ: IR History: Early Days - 1
- ^ [IRFCA] Indian Railways FAQ: Electric Traction - I
- ^ Madras - The Architectural Heritage, ISBN 81-901640-0-7, p53
- ^ [1][dead link]
External links
- Google Satellite Map of Madras Central
- How to get Metro Train routes and timing information for Chennai
Coordinates: 13°04′56″N 80°16′31″E / 13.08222°N 80.27528°E
Categories:- Chennai
- Chennai railway division
- Railway stations in Chennai
- Railway centrals in India
- Southern Railway (India) Zone
- Railway stations opened in 1873
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