Southern Indian Railway is the only zone in
India that generates its revenue from passengers rather than
freight.
Southern Indian Railway
| Headquarters: |
Chennai |
| Divisions: |
Chennai, Madurai, Palghat, Tiruchchirapalli, Trivandrum, Salem |
| Established on: |
14 April 1951 |
Southern Railway (SR) is credited to be the first
railway zone that sought establishment in liberated India. On April 14th
1951, Southern Railway was established by combining three state railways
including Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway, South Indian Railway and
Mysore State Railway. Initially, the Southern Railway was formed in the
British times, when Great Southern India Railway Co. was initiated in
Britain (1853). At the outset, Tiruchirappalli was designated as its
headquarters. However, it got registered as a company in 1890 at London.
The capital city of Tamil Nadu, Chennai serves as the headquarters of
Southern Railway. The zone has been segregated into six divisions namely
Chennai, Madurai, Salem, Palakkad, Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) and
Tiruchirapalli. The Southern Railways encompasses several states
including Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Kerala as well as little segments of
Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Over 500 million passengers commute on the
southern railway network annually. As a matter of fact, this zone
derives all its revenue from passengers rather than freight, making it
different from other zones of Indian Railways.
In 2005, Railway Board approved formation of new Railway division to
develop the railway infrastructure and for better administration. Salem
was held as the headquarters for the new division. The creation of this
division helped a lot to launch better train services, hence rewarding
the requests of railway passengers. The places like Coimbatore and
Tiruppur (highest revenue yielder) are currently integrated in division
of Salem. Salem is the infant division of the Southern Railway that
shaped out from divisions of Palakkad and Tiruchirapalli.
Most of the section of Southern Railway has Meter Gauge, which is a
contrast to maximum railways having Broad Gauge. Soon, various plans for
improvement would be charged to renovate all tracks to Broad Gauge,
develop stations, swathe platforms and superior catering stalls. An
automated signal system would also be installed to avoid accidents.
Chennai Central Station is known to serve 1 million passengers daily.
Advancement of stations including Chennai, Tiruchirapalli, Madurai,
Palghat and Thiruvanathapuram is under the process.
