Southern Divisions
Southern Railway – Divisions at a Glance
Southern Railway (SR) is the oldest of the 19 Indian Railways zones and is headquartered at Chennai (Royapuram).
It was carved out of the erstwhile Madras & Southern Mahratta Railway (MSMR) on 14 April 1951.
1. Constituent Divisions
| Division | HQ | States Covered | Route km (2023) | Key Sheds & Workshops |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chennai | Chennai Central | TN, AP | 992 | Basin Bridge (EMU), Perambur Carriage & Loco Works |
| Tiruchirappalli | Golden Rock | TN | 1 063 | Golden Rock (Diesel), Ponmalai (Wagon) |
| Madurai | Madurai | TN | 1 005 | Diesel & Electric Trip Sheds |
| Palakkad | Palakkad Jn. | KL, TN | 588 | Diesel Loco Shed (ERS-PLKD section) |
| Salem | Salem Jn. | TN, KL, AP | 794 | Electric Loco Shed (opened 2018) |
| Thiruvananthapuram | Thiruvananthapuram Central | KL | 625 | TVC Electric Loco Shed, Kollam MEMU Shed |
Total route km of SR (all divisions) ≈ 5 077 km (BG – 100 %; electrified – 98 %)
2. Technical & Operational Specifications
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Traction mix | 100 % electrified (last stretch → 2022) |
| Max. sectional speed | 130 km/h (Chennai–Vijayawada & Chennai–Guntakal) |
| Signalling | Automatic block on Chennai suburban; CBI, Electronic Interlocking on main line |
| Train mgmt. | TMS (Tiruchchirappalli–Madurai), ACD, GPS-enabled “FogPASS” |
| Freight basket | Coal (NTPL, NLC), limestone, cement, containers (ICD-Tondiarpet, Coimbatore), food-grains |
| Rolling stock holding (2023) | 1 096 electric locos, 188 DEMUs converted to MEMUs, 4 731 coaches |
| Rake maintenance | 50 trip sheds, 4 pit lines per division avg. |
3. Historical Milestones
- 1853 – First steam run in South India: Royapuram–Walajah Road (Red Hill Railway)
- 1856 – Madras–Arakkonam (M&SM Railway) – 69 km – first BG line in SR
- 1874 – Madras–Tuticorin port line completed – vital for cotton export during American Civil War
- 1891 – Palakkad–Podanur chord opened – shortest Calicut–Madras route
- 1927 – Perambur Carriage Works set up – oldest integrated workshop in SR
- 1931 – Madras Electric Suburban service started (3rd oldest after Mumbai & Kolkata)
- 1956 – Erstwhile Madras Railway merged with SR at formation
- 1969 – Pamban Bridge (2.06 km) – India’s first sea bridge for rail ( metre-gauge then) converted to BG in 2007
- 1979 – Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) UNESCO tag (toy train – rack & pinion)
- 1998 – Konkan Railway Corporation opened – SR gets shortest Mumbai–Trivandrum route
- 2018 – Salem ELS commissioned – first 12 000 HP “WAG-12” locos allotted to SR
- 2022 – RailSpring QR-based coach maintenance app piloted at Basin Bridge
- 2023 – Amrit Bharat (Rs 800 cr) sanction for Chennai, TVC & Trichy stations under ADIP scheme
4. Current Status & Recent Updates (2023-24)
- K-RIDE (Kerala Rail Infrastructure Dev. Corp.)– SR running 532 km “Silver Line” planning – semi-high speed (200 km/h) – DPR with KRCL.
- Trivandrum–Kasaragod Vande Bharat Express flagged off (Apr-23) – SR’s first VB – 6:15 h vs 9 h Shatabdi.
- Chennai Suburban 4th line between Korukkupet–Attipattu (28 km) completed – 140 EMU services added.
- Golden Rock sanctioned Hybrid LOCOTROL facility – remote loco operation for long-haul freights.
- Madurai–Bodinayakkanur BG conversion (90 km) – 85 % complete – expected 2025.
- Rameswaram – new Ro-Ro jetty & Pamban vertical-lift span (2024) – 2.0 km bridge – Navayuga Engineering–RVNL joint venture.
- Salem–Karur doubling (83 km) – 60 % earthwork over – to ease Erode choke.
- Trivandrum coaching terminal expansion – 4th pit line added – capacity ↑ 40 %.
5. Quick-Fire Data Capsule (RRB-favourite)
- Longest platform in SR – Shoranur (8B) – 1 086 m
- Highest rail pier – Pamban – 64 m (new vertical-lift span)
- Deepest gradient – Nilgiri Mountain – 1 in 12 (rack section)
- Busiest freight line – Guntakal–Renigunta (coal & iron ore)
- Only rack railway – NMR (Mettupalayam–Udagamandalam)
- EMU carsheds – Avadi, Tambaram, Velachery, Korukkupet, Tiruvallur
- MEMU carsheds – Kollam, Palakkad, Madurai, Salem
- International border – Thiruvananthapuram division touches Kanyakumari – closest rail head to Sri Lanka (25 km)
- World Heritage Rail – NMR & Kalka–Shimla (but only NMR is in SR)
6. 15+ MCQs – Southern Divisions
1. Headquarters of Southern Railway is located at
Answer: Chennai (Royapuram)
2. Which division of SR has the longest route-kilometre?
Answer: Tiruchirappalli (≈ 1 063 km)
3. India’s first sea rail bridge “Pamban” lies in which SR division?
Answer: Madurai
4. The electric loco shed at Salem was commissioned in
Answer: 2018
5. Which of the following workshops is the oldest in Indian Railways?
Answer: Perambur Carriage Works (1927)
6. UNESCO World Heritage “Nilgiri Mountain Railway” belongs to which division?
Answer: Salem
7. The first Vande Bharat Express of SR runs between
Answer: Thiruvananthapuram–Kasaragod
8. Which is the only rack-and-pinion section in SR?
Answer: Mettupalayam–Coonoor
9. The divisional headquarters “Golden Rock” pertains to
Answer: Tiruchirappalli
10. The deepest gradient (1 in 12) in SR is found on
Answer: NMR rack section
11. Which of the following is NOT a division of SR?
Answer: Guntakal (it is under SCoR)
12. India’s first BG electrified suburban service started in SR during
Answer: 1931 (Madras Beach–Tambaram)
13. The “Silver Line” semi-high-speed corridor of Kerala is to be executed by
Answer: K-RIDE (Kerala Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation)
14. The electric loco shed at Basin Bridge falls under which division?
Answer: Chennai
15. The longest platform of SR, Shoranur (1 086 m), is in
Answer: Palakkad division
16. The new vertical-lift span of Pamban bridge will have a navigational clearance of
Answer: 22 m (from present 17 m)
17. Which SR division touches the maximum number of states?
Answer: Salem (Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh)
18. The MEMU carshed at Kollam is under administrative control of
Answer: Thiruvananthapuram division
Revision tip: Map the 5 divisions + Nilgiri Mountain on a blank south-India outline; mark sheds, workshops, ports & ghats – 80 % location-based MCQs solved!
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