Hauling about the Madras city on trains
Madras was the first place in India where trains were introduced. In 1856, Royapuram became the terminus for a line that ran to Walajah Road. On the suburban side, the ball began rolling in the 1900s, and while the network grew, it never quite rivalled those in places such as Mumbai. Then came the MRTS, which never realised its full potential. At present, Metro Rail is the city’s latest attempt…
Trains made their debut in Madras long before the famous service between Boribunder and Thane. In the 1830s, stone-hauling trains operated from Red Hills, designed by the talented engineer Arthur Cotton. When commercial railways began, Madras linked up with Walajah Road in 1856, with the terminus at Royapuram, where the Northern Terminus Road still exists today.
The need for a suburban railway line arose, echoing the motivations behind Cotton's original design in the 1930s. As the harbor expanded in the early 1900s to its full potential, Sir Francis Spring, the influential Chairman of the Port Trust, opted to connect it to the railway line. Given his background in railways, this move came naturally.
The South Indian Railway was linked to the harbor, and the Port Trust Railway, the tiniest railway line in India, took over within the premises.
Written by urgent.news from The Hindu's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
