Salem railway division

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Salem Railway Division
broad gauge
Previous gaugeBroad gauge and Meter gauge
Length862 km (536 mi)
Other
WebsiteSouthern Railways - Salem railway division

Salem division is one of the six divisions of

Southern Railway zone. Its headquarters is at Salem, Tamil Nadu
.

History

Salem Railway Division is the newest division of the

Southern Railway Zone of Indian Railways. It was carved out of the Palakkad railway division and Tiruchirappalli railway division. It was inaugurated on 14 November 2006 in the presence of Arjun Singh and the then chief minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi.[1]

Important railway stations

Coimbatore junction is the busiest railway station in this division and accounts for 45% of the revenues. Coimbatore junction is classified under NSG-2 and it has 35,000 footfall per day. Salem, Erode and Karur are the other important junctions, while Erode handles most of the crew change in the route. Tiruppur is an important station in Salem division that handles a significant volume of agricultural commodities, textile products and machinery, which contribute an abundant profit in the freight segment.

Routes

Salem division has its jurisdiction entirely in the state of Tamil Nadu. It covers 15 districts in Tamil Nadu and has a total route length of 862 km (536 mi),[2][3] Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Karur and Namakkal being the important district Headquarters.

Salem division jurisdiction includes the following:

Loco Shed

There is a Diesel as well as an Electric Loco shed in Erode. Both the loco sheds provide locomotives to Southern Railways and South Western Railways.

One Meter Gauge loco shed is situated at Coonoor to facilitate Nilgiri Mountain Railway.

Pit lines

The pit lines for maintenance of passenger coaches are at Coimbatore, Erode, Mettupalayam and Coonoor.

  • Coimbatore has two pit lines, both can handle 24 coach trains.
  • Erode has two pit lines, one can handle 17 coaches and other can handle ten coaches. An additional pitline for handling long-distance trains is nearing completion.
  • Mettupalayam has three pit lines: Two broad-gauge pit lines and one meter-gauge. The lone meter-gauge pit line is capable of handling four coaches. Among the two broad-gauge pit lines, one can handle seven coaches and other pit line has the capacity of six coaches.
  • Coonoor has one meter-gauge pit line which can handle four coaches.

Trains handled

Salem division handles many long-distance and interstate trains. Coimbatore coaching complex is the most important in Salem division and it is congested due to the huge volume of trains.

Tourism

The famous Nilgiri Mountain Railway heritage line is under Salem division. The scenic line starts from Mettupalayam and ends at Ooty. The section from Mettupalayam to Coonoor is hauled by a Steam locomotive. A YDM-4 Diesel engine is attached at Coonoor for the further journey till Ooty. Between Mettupalayam and Coonoor, the line uses the Abt rack and pinion system to climb the steep gradient. The NMR is the only rack railway in India. The average gradient in this rack section is 1 in 24.5 (4.08%), with a maximum of 1 in 12 (8.33%). Even though the NMR supplies networked computerized ticketing systems for onward journeys, it still issues Edmondson style manual tickets for the Udhagamandalam-Mettupalayam journey to preserve its 'World Heritage Site' status. Ticket booking is similar to conventional trains and can be done via the Indian Railway website. It is advisable to book tickets well in advance, especially during peak season.

Medical facilities

The medical department comprises two sub Divisional hospitals – Erode and Podanur. It also four Health Units at Coonoor, Mettupalayam, Salem and Karur. At present proposals have gone to Railway Board for approval of a multi specialty sub divisional hospital at Erode.

Facts

  • Southern Railway's first Anaconda freight train was operated by Salem division from Erode Junction to Jolarpettai Junction.
  • India's first Uday Express was inaugurated at Coimbatore.
  • Salem division has its entire Broad Gauge line electrified.
  • Chemmozhi express in Coimbatore coach care is completely maintained by women.
  • It has the only hill railway tourist toy train present in entire South India.

References

  1. ^ "Kerala rail zone in lieu of two truncated divisions". The Hindu. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  2. ^ "Salem railway division formed". The Hindu. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  3. ^ "Southern Railways - Salem railway division". Southern Railways, India. Retrieved 10 June 2014.