Puducherry railway station

Puducherry railway station (station code: PDY) is a terminal railway station serving the city of Pondicherry.

Puducherry
Express train and Passenger train station
The Main Entrance of the Station
LocationSubbiah Salai(South Blvd), Pondicherry
Coordinates11.9250°N 79.8281°E / 11.9250; 79.8281
Owned byIndian Railways
Operated bySouthern Railway zone
Line(s)Villupuram–Pondicherry branch line
Platforms3
Tracks4
ConnectionsTaxi stand, Auto rickshaw stand
Construction
Structure typeStandard (on-ground station)
ParkingAvailable
Bicycle facilitiesAvailable
Disabled access
Other information
StatusFunctioning
Station codePDY
Zone(s) Southern Railway zone
Division(s) Tiruchirappalli
Fare zoneIndian Railways
Route map
km
to Katpadi Junction
  Chennai Egmore  
0
 Viluppuram Junction
   Vriddhachalam Junction 
 to Cuddalore Port Junction
10
 Valavanur
22
 Chinna Babu Samudram
Tamil Nadu
Puducherry
 NH 45A
30
 Villianur
 NH 45A
38
 Puducherry

History

The Puducherry railway line is one of the oldest rail link in India and it was constructed in the year 1879 by the Puducherry Railway Company during the period of French and British rule in India. Under the supervision of South Indian Railway with the object of connecting the town and the port of Puducherry with South India and to develop the resources of the Puducherry Territory, the rail link between Puducherry and Villupuram has been established. Even though there was total enmity between the then Super Powers—the French and the English—when it came to economic development they had a very good understanding and the Puducherry Railway system was a good example of it.[1]

The station is operated by the Southern Railway zone of the Indian Railways and comes under the Tiruchirapalli railway division. This Division may be the only Division in the world maintaining the Railways developed by both the British and the French empires.

It has daily trains connecting the city with Chennai apart from non-daily trains towards prime cities including Mangaluru, Tiruchirapalli, Bengaluru, Kolkata, New Delhi, Bhubaneshwar and Mumbai via Villupuram.[2][3][4]

Location and Layout

The Puducherry railway station is located on Subbiah Salai and is very close to several tourist spots and important locations in the city such as the Main Bus Stand (1.3 km (0.81 mi)), Aurobindo Ashram (1.8 km (1.1 mi)), Chief Secretariat Building (1.9 km (1.2 mi)), and Puducherry Airport (6.8 km (4.2 mi)).[5]

There are 3 platforms in the station for passenger traffic and one for the now defunct goods service.[6] There have also been proposals for constructing 2 pit lanes in the station for train maintenance. The station underwent a major revamp in 2008 following the launch of new trains connecting it to various destinations.[5]

References
  1. "SOUTHERN RAILWAY—TIRUCHCHIRAPPALLI DIVISION" (PDF). Indian Railways. Southern Railway zone. 28 July 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  2. "Residents demand railway station". The Hindu. Puducherry. 6 January 2009. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  3. Jaisankar C. (27 February 2013). "A dream-come-true Railway budget: Union Minister". The Hindu. Puducherry. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  4. "Bomb scare at railway station". The Hindu. Puducherry. 3 February 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  5. "Facelift for railway station". The Hindu. 28 May 2008. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  6. "Railway move to shift goods handling draws flak". The Indian Express. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
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