| Railways Home | Indian Railways | Indian Railway Zones | Trains Schedules in India | Railway Stations in India | Passing Thru Trains | Rail Tourism | Cities Railway Stations | Train Travel in India | Classes in Indian trains |

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.

For better administrative control and improved development and operational reasons, Railway Board approved creation of new Railway Division with Salem as headquarters in 2005 to improve railway infrastructure, facilities (lacking since several decades) and introduce better train services thus satisfying the long felt needs to railway passengers in and around surrounding areas, thus providing better conveniences to the railway traveller. The highest revenue yielding Coimbatore and Tirupur are now included in Salem division. Now it is fourth largest of all the six. Southern Railway divisions, and carved out of Palakkad and Tiruchirapalli divisions. A large section of this railway was in Meter Gauge, compared to most of Indian Railway being in Broad Gauge. The main improvements currently in this railway are to convert all tracks to Broad Gauge, improvement of stations, platform covering, better catering stalls, and an automated signal system to avoid accidents. The single Chennai Central station handles a million passengers every day. Six stations, Chennai, Tiruchirapalli, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Palakkad and Thiruvanathapuram are scheduled for upgrading in 2007.