Avadi railway station (station code: AVD) is an NSG–2 category Indian railway station in

Chennai railway division Chennai railway division is one of the six railway divisions under the jurisdiction of Southern Railway zone of the Indian Railways. Chennai Division was formed on ''31 August 1956 ''. Currently, it has a route length of over 697.93 km an ...

Southern Railway zone Southern Railway (SR) is one of the eighteen zones of Indian Railways. It is headquartered at Chennai and operates across the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and the union territory of Puducherry. The origin of the Southern Rai ...

. It is one of the major railway terminals of the

Chennai Central Chennai Central (officially Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station, formerly Madras Central) (station code: MAS), is an NSG–1 category Indian railway station in Chennai railway division of Southern Railway zone ...

–

Arakkonam Arakkonam () is a railway town in the Ranipet district, state of Tamil Nadu. Included within the Chennai metropolitan area, Chennai Metropolitan Area since 2022, Arakkonam is a major suburb of the state capital city Chennai, with a population ...

section of the

Chennai Suburban Railway Network The Chennai Suburban Railway is a commuter rail system in the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, operated by the Southern Railways branch of Indian Railways. It is India's second largest suburban rail network in terms of route length and the ...

. It serves the neighbourhood of

Avadi Avadi () is a city Located within the Chennai metropolitan area, Its the headquarters of Avadi Police, Avadi City Police, Avadi City Municipal Corporation, Avadi City Corporation and Avadi taluk, Avadi Taluk located within the Thiruvallur dist ...

, a suburb of

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

located 23 km west of the city centre. It is situated at Tirumalairajapuram locality of Avadi, with an elevation of 26.85 m above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. According to a railway release in 2008, there are plans to develop Avadi station as a coaching terminal (satellite terminal) for

Chennai Central railway station Chennai Central (officially Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station, formerly Madras Central) (station code: MAS), is an NSG–1 category Indian railway station in Chennai railway division of Southern Railway zone. ...

, on the lines of Tambaram station being developed as a terminal for Egmore railway station. Later in 2023, the plan of making Perambur as 4th railway terminal was considered but not finalised. But, there are repeated requests from commuters to make Avadi as railway terminal.

History

The first lines in the station were electrified on 29 November 1979, with the electrification of the Chennai Central–

Tiruvallur Tiruvallur is a Grade I municipality in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of Coovum river about from downtown Chennai ( Madras) in the western part of the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA). It is a satellite tow ...

section. The EMU car shed lines at Avadi were electrified on 1 February 1980. Additional lines at the station were electrified on 2 October 1986, with the electrification of the

Villivakkam Villivakkam is a neighbourhood of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is served by the Villivakkam railway station on the Chennai Central–Arakkonam suburban section. Villivakkam is the largest state assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu in terms of ...

–Avadi section. The electrification preliminaries, such as poles, were observed on the railway lines passing through Avadi Railway Station as early as 1977. The first broad-gauge electric EMUs were first introduced on the Madras Central–

Gummidipoondi Gummidipoondi is an industrial town in Chennai Metropolitan Region of Thiruvallur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Notably, it is the northernmost assembly constituency and settlement in the state of Tamil Nadu. Demographics Ind ...

section by 1979 and in the next phase on the Madras Central–Tiruvallur section around 1980. From around 1971 to 1980, there these beastly WP steam locomotives that were hauling the Suburban trains going up to Tiruvallur and Gumidipoondi. The WDS category shuttle diesel were seen pulling the

Pattabiram Pattabiram is a neighbourhood situated on the western part of Chennai, India. The suburb, which falls under Avadi Municipal Corporation, is about 25 km from the Chennai Central railway station. It is an immediate neighbour of Chennai cit ...

Military Siding trains going up to E Depot in the Avadi Air Force Station Cantonment Area. It helped identifying the trains. As for the express trains passing through Avadi, those were diesel electrics. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, it was probably the Baldwin Class WP steam locos that were hauling trains such as Dadar Express and Bombay Mail from

Kalyan Kalyan (Pronunciation: əljaːɳ is a city on the banks of Ulhas River in Thane district of Maharashtra state in Konkan division. It is governed by Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation. Kalyan is a subdivision (Taluka) of Thane district ...

, taking over the duties from the mighty WCM DC Electrics operating on the

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

–Kalyan route.

Layout

The station has six tracks, including two loop lines, and has four platforms. The first platform is a

side platform A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platforms, ...

housing the station's entrance and the ticket counter, and the second and third are part of an

island platform An island platform (also center platform (American English) or centre platform (British English)) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway inte ...

. The fourth platform borders the northern end of the station and is the longest of all the platforms. The platforms are connected by means of a

footbridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...

. As of 2013, the station handles about 40,000 passengers a day.

Station layout

Projects and development

Avadi is one of the 73 stations in Tamil Nadu to be named for upgradation under ''Amrit Bharat Station Scheme'' of Indian Railways. It is also in the Chennai Suburban Railway network that are being developed as Adarsh stations. A metro rail connectivity from Pattabiram to Koyambedu by Red line corridor of

Chennai Metro The Chennai Metro is a rapid transit system serving the city of Chennai, India. Operated by Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) – a joint venture between the Government of India and the State Government of Tamil Nadu, the network consists o ...

, connecting this railway station and Avadi bus terminus, is approved by

Government of Tamil Nadu The Government of Tamil Nadu () is the administrative body responsible for the governance of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is the capital of the state and houses the state executive, legislature and head of judiciary. Under the Const ...

, with land acquisition near railway station underway.

References

External links