Southern Railway zone

In 1944, all Railway companies were taken over by the Government. And three years later, when India woke up to independence in 1947, the stage was set for the integration of different Railways into smaller zones. In 1948, immediately after independence, there were as many as 42 different railway systems - a multiplicity of railway administrations, varying in size and standards.

The regrouping proposals put forward by the various committees were studied in great detail to ensure that a unification could be achieved with the least disturbance and dislocation. Important associations of railway-users, Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the State Governments and acknowledged experts both in India and abroad were fully consulted.

Shri N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar - the then Minister for Railways, was the principal architect of the regrouping of Indian Railways. In December 1950, the Central Advisory Committee for Railways approved the plan for Indian Railways into six Zonal systems, namely, the Northern, the North-Eastern, the Southern, the Central, the Eastern and the Western.

The Southern Railway zone 9,654 kilometres (5,999 mi) was the first zone to be formed.[3] Created on 14 April 1951 by the merger of the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway, the South Indian Railway and the Mysore State Railway, the economic and geographical factors of this zone facilitated an early integrated network. This amalgamation was a major step towards streamlining and organizing the working pattern of the Railway system.

Shri K R Ramanujam was appointed the first General Manager of the newly formed Southern Railways.

Divisional system of working on the Southern Railway was introduced in stages, and the dates on which the various Divisions started working are givenbelow:

The Southern Railway is headed by the General Manager (HAG+) Officer, assisted by an Additional General Manager (HAG). Each department is headed by a PHOD\CHOD of the rank of HAG\SAG.

Southern Railway has its headquarters in Chennai and has the following six divisions:

• Chennai railway division
• Madurai railway division
• Palakkad railway division
• Salem railway division
• Trivandrum railway division
• Tiruchirappalli railway division

It covers the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry and small portions of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. More than 50 crore passengers travel on the network every year.

The zone operates both passenger and freight trains. The biggest station of the Zone is Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station. Other major stations of the Zone includes Chennai Egmore, Arakkonam Junction, Katpadi Junction, Mangalore Central, Mangalore Jn., Coimbatore, Salem, Kumbakonam , Dindigul, Palakkad, Kozhikode, Viluppuram, Ernakulam Junction, Alappuzha, Kottayam Railway Station, Tirur, Varkala, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Trichy, Thiruvananthapuram Central, Trivandrum Kochuveli, Nagercoil Junction, Jolarpettai Junction , Erode, Kollam Junction, Thrissur, Kannur, Shoranur, and Puducherry. Passenger trains range from day intercity trains to overnight trains, long-distance trains to other zones, Shatabdi and passenger trains stopping at many stations. The zone owns a large number of coaches. These are maintained at coach care centres. Basin Bridge coach care centre serving Chennai central is one of the biggest in the country. Most major stations have a coach care Centre. The stations which don't have such facilities are served by trains through sometimes complex rake-sharing arrangements which also increases the utilization of the coaches. Apart from these Centres, the zone has MEMU and DEMU car sheds. These are available in Avadi, Trichy, Erode, Palakkad and Kollam. The zone also operates suburban system in Chennai.

Freight operations mainly include container traffic from all the ports falling under its jurisdiction ( Chennai, Mangalore, Ennore, Cochin and Tuticorin are some of the major ports) and coal-traffic bound to the thermal power stations in Tamil Nadu state from the ports. Public sector oil companies also transport petroleum products from refineries to storage terminals using the zone. Cement plants also use the railway system extensively. Food grains are also transported through freight trains. Most of the lines inside ports, thermal stations, manufacturing industries and owned by the respective companies and the zone provides a link connecting its network and the wagons and locomotives. There is a wagon care centre in Tondiarpet, Chennai.

The zone has electric loco sheds at Royapuram, Erode and Arakkonam. Diesel loco sheds are present at Tondiarpet, Golden Rock, Ernakulam and Erode. Most of the important routes are electrified and only low traffic lines are unelectrified. However, it is common to see diesel locos in electrified lines due to various operational constraints. It is also common to see other zones' locomotives operating inside the zone and vice versa.

Since the zone has little freight traffic compared to other zones and huge passenger traffic (which are run at low fares across the country), the zones' finances are often in a bad shape.[5][6]

Terminal railway stations in this zone are listed below.

They are:

•Mangalore central

•Thiruvananthapuram central

•Nilambur Road

•Guruvayur

•Cochin Harbour Terminus

•Kanniyakumari

•Tiruchendur

•Thoothukudi

•Rameshwaram

•Bodi Nayakkanur

•Mannargudi

•Velankanni

•Point Calimere

•Tranquebar

•Puducherry

•Mettur

•Udhagamandalam(Ooty)

•Pattabiramam East depot

•Anna Nagar West

•Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station

•Chennai Beach

•Ranippet

•Chennai Central Suburban Terminal

• Electric Loco Shed, Royapuram
• Electric Loco Shed, Arakkonam
• Electric Loco Shed, Erode
• Diesel Loco Shed, Golden Rock
• Diesel Loco Shed, Ernakulam
• Diesel Loco Shed, Erode
• Diesel Loco Shed, Tondiarpet
• Steam Loco Shed, Coonoor

• Zones and divisions of Indian Railways
• All India Station Masters' Association (AISMA)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Southern Railway Zone, India.

• Southern Railway official website