Chennai Egmore railway station

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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.[1] 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

Egmore station in 1913

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.[2][3] 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.[2] The station was planned on a Template:Cvt plot of land, of which Template:Cvt was owned by Andy. After initial reluctance, Andy sold the land for approximately Template:INRconvert in 1904.[2][4]

Rear entrance added in 2006

The terminal building was designed by British architects Henry Irwin and E. C. Bird. It measured Template:Cvt by Template:Cvt, 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 Template:INRconvert.[2][4][5] The station was opened to the public on 11 June 1908, and initially relied on diesel generators for electricity.[6][7][8] The station underwent developments in 1930, and became part of the first electrified suburban line established in 1931.[2][6][9] A signal cabin at the station was opened in 1935, after the suburban line between Madras Beach and Template:Stnlnk was electrified.[10] 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.[2][4] The station was expanded in 1980, and the tracks were converted into broad gauge in 1998.[11] The suburban trains continued to operate on meter gauge until 2004 when a new suburban terminal was added to the station.[2][4] In 2006, a second entrance was established on the Poonamallee High road at a cost of Template:INRConvert.[5][12] In 2013, ballast-less tracks were laid along the terminus.[13] In the early 2020s, it was one of the stations selected for upgradation under the Amrit Bharat scheme of the Indian Railways,[14] and underwent major renovation as a part of the scheme.[15]

Design

The station lies on a Template:Cvt plot of land on Gandhi-Irwin road in Egmore.[2] It is situated between two flyovers on either side of the road.[6] The station building is spread over Template:Cvt, 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.[2][15] 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.[16] The building had stained glass windows and was earlier equipped with wooden stairways to move across platforms.[2]

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.[17] It is located on the Chennai Egmore–Thanjavur main line.[18] It also forms part of the South Line of the Chennai suburban rail network that extends from Chennai Beach towards Tambaram.[19] Template:As of, the station handles about 120 Mail/Express trains and 442 Suburban/Multiple Units daily.[15][20] 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.[5][21][22] Beginning in the early 2010s, Indian Railways terminated few of the services at Tambaram railway station to reduce congestion at the station.[23]

Facilities

There are 11 platforms in the station.[4][24] In 2019–20, platforms five to nine were extended.[25] The station has a train care centre attached to it, which houses the trains terminating at the station.[26] There are 16 air-conditioned dormitories, 14 retiring rooms, and three waiting halls for passengers.[25]

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.[27] The station has an Integrated Security Surveillance System implemented in 2012, which consists of a set of CCTV cameras installed around the station.[28] 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.[29]

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.[25][30] Pre-paid taxi and autorickshaw services are also available from the station.[31] The Egmore metro station on the Green Line of the Chennai Metro serves the station.[32]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Southern Railway List of Stations. Centre For Railway Information Systems(1 April 2023). Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 Chennai Landmark – The Egmore Station, V, Sriram(25 November 2014). Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  3. ↑ Whither this National Library?, Muthiah, S.(27 October 2012). Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Heritage tracks, Pain, Paromita(27 June 2008). Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Red-letter day for Southern Railway(11 June 2008). Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Egmore and the South, Muthiah, S.(16 June 2008). Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  7. ↑ The railway of the Deep South, Muthiah, S.(9 May 2010). Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  8. ↑ Chugging on . . . a hundred years hence, Krishnaswamy, Murali N.(17 June 2008). Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  9. ↑ Chennai division. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  10. ↑ Madras Egmore: South Indian Railway, Hinson, John. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  11. ↑ One hundred years of tireless travel ... still chugging with charm(7 June 2008). Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  12. ↑ Second terminal at Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M. G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station proposed. The Hindu(26 October 2004). Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  13. ↑ Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M. G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station, Chennai Egmore Railway Station to get washable tracks. The Times of India(14 February 2013). Retrieved 17 February 2013.
  14. ↑ Amrit Bharat Stations. Press Information Bureau(10 February 2023). Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Template:Cite press release
  16. ↑ Egmore station then and now(16 March 2023). Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  17. ↑ Southern Railway List of Stations. Centre For Railway Information Systems(1 April 2023). Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  18. ↑ Southern Railway Route Map. Southern Railway zone, Indian Railways. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  19. ↑ Chennai rail network. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  20. ↑ Display boards at station fail to show the way. The Hindu(5 February 2013). Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  21. ↑ Train Timings at Chennai Egmore. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
  22. ↑ Egmore to remain railway hub. The Hindu(22 December 2011). Retrieved 31 December 2011.
  23. ↑ Tambaram 3rd Rail Terminus update. The Hindu(20 January 2012). Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  24. ↑ Chennai Egmore. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 Egmore railway station to have better services for commuters(26 November 2019). Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  26. ↑ Passengers panic as pests overrun dirty train bogies. The Times of India(29 October 2012). Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  27. ↑ Railway police launches two helplines. The Hindu(1 May 2012). Retrieved 25 November 2012.
  28. ↑ Chennai: Suburban railway stations to come under CCTV surveillance. IBN Live(18 July 2012). Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  29. ↑ New agency undertakes cleaning of Egmore station. The Hindu(7 December 2012). Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  30. ↑ Whenners Road hit by 'pothole plague'. The Hindu(5 October 2019). Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  31. ↑ One more prepaid autorickshaw counter opened at Egmore Railway Station. The Times of India(1 August 2014). Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  32. ↑ Chennai Metro Rail Line Map.

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