Chord Line, Tamil Nadu

Chord Line

Overview
Other name(s)| Viluppuram - Trichy railway line
Native name| கார்டு லைன்
Status| Operating
Owner| Indian Railways
Locale| Tamil Nadu
Termini|

* Viluppuram Junction (VM)
* Tiruchirappalli Junction (TPJ)

Stations| 29
Website| www.sr.indianrailways.gov.in
Service
Type| Regional rail
Heavy rail
Light rail
Services| 1
Route number| 21/21A[1]
Operator(s)| Southern Railway zone
Depot(s)| Golden Rock
History
Opened| 1 February 1929; 94 years ago (1929-02-01)
Technical
Line length| 178 km (111 mi)
Number of tracks| Double Line (Triple line between GOC and TPJ)
Track gauge| 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
Old gauge| 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)
Loading gauge| 4,725 mm × 3,660 mm (15 ft 6.0 in × 12 ft 0.1 in) (BG)[2]
Electrification| 25 kV AC 50 Hz
Operating speed| 80 km/h (50 mph)

Route map

Legend

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to Chennai Egmore

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to Katpadi Junction

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| Viluppuram Junction
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NH 332

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to Puducherry

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to Cuddalore Port Junction

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| Kandambakkam
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Thenpennai River

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| Tiruvennainallur
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| Parikkal
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Gadilam River

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| Ulundurupet
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NH 45

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| Meppuliyur
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| Puvanur
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to Salem Junction

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to Cuddalore Port Junction

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SH 69

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| Vriddhachalam Junction
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Vellar River

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SH 16

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NH 532

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| Vriddhachalam Town
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| Talanallur
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| Pennadam
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SH 141

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Manjal River

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| Ichchangadu
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| Mathur
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| Sendurai
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| Vellur (Halt)
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100

| Ottakovil
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Madras Cements

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NH 136

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109

| Ariyalur
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Perambalur–Ariyalur Road

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116

| Sillakudi
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NH 227

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123

| Kallagam
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134

| Kallakudi Palanganatham
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138

| Pullambadi
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147

| Kattur
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Trichy-Paramsivapuram Road

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152

| Lalgudi
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155

| Mandurai
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158

| Valadi
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NH 227

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162

| Pichchandarkovil
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NH 45

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164

| Uttamarkovil
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Kollidam River

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167

| Srirangam
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Kaveri

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170

| Tiruchirappalli Town
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to Manjatidal (Golden Rock Byepass line)

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Diesel Loco Shed, Golden Rock

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Golden Rock Railway Workshop

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176

| Golden Rock
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to Tiruchirappalli Goods yard

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to Karur Junction

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|  | Good shed road overpass
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178

| Tiruchirappalli Junction
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Junction overpass

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to Karaikkudi Junction

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Rail yard

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to Dindigul Junction

|  |  |  |  |  |

The Chord Line connects Viluppuram Junction and Tiruchirappalli Junction, via Virudhachalam Junction in Tamil Nadu. It is the vital, shortest and busiest route connecting Chennai Egmore and Southern Tamil Nadu.

## History[edit]

Until 1927, Viluppuram Junction and Tiruchirappalli Junction were only connected by Main line that traversed through Kumbakonam and Mayavaram, which was 240 kilometres (150 mi). Hence, the need for shorter route arose and construction began on 22 August 1927 for a new railway line via Virudhachalam Junction in phases. Initially, the stretch between Viluppuram Junction and Virudhachalam were completed and opened on 1 December 1927, the Srirangam \- Golden Rock stretch on 22 August 1927, Bikshandarkoil \- Srirangam stretch on 12 December 1927 and the entire stretch began its operations since 1 February 1929. This line gradually reduced the Madras - Colombo journey by around four hours.[3]

## Gauge conversions[edit]

The conversion from metre gauge to broad gauge was effected during 1992-93 and completed during September 1998.[4]

## Electrification[edit]

This stretch was proposed for electrification phase by phase by CORE. The electrification was completed during 2010.[5]

## Operations[edit]

### Passenger services[edit]

The line experiences a heaviest traffic[6] handling about 30 passenger and 56 express trains passing through every day in addition to goods train, particularly during night.[7][8][9]

### Freight services[edit]

The line has a number of Industrial establishments[10] which utilises their nearby railway stations for their logistics and transports such as Central Workshop (Golden Rock), Cement and gypsum factories at Trichy, Perambalur and Ariyalur,[11][12][13] and the Sugar factories at Villupuram and Vridhachalam,[14]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Trains at a Glance July 2013 - June 2014". Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
2. ^ J S Mundrey (2010). Railway Track Engineering (Fourth ed.). New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill. p. 7\. ISBN 978-0-07-068012-8. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
3. ^ R. P. Saxena. "Indian Railway History Time line". Irse.bravehost.com. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
4. ^ "Works And Contract Management". Comptroller and Auditor General of India. Archived from the original on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
5. ^ "Electrification work from Villupuram to Tiruchi completed: E. Ahamed". The Hindu. 12 January 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
6. ^ R.Rajaram (15 May 2013). "Dindigul-Villupuram project set to cross another milestone". The Hindu. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
7. ^ R.Rajaram (10 July 2010). "Tiruchi-Chennai line to get decongested". The Hindu. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
8. ^ "Doubling work on 25-km stretch completed in Trichy division". The Times of India. 16 May 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
9. ^ "Kallakudi Palanganatham-Ariyalur railway line nearing completion". The Hindu. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
10. ^ "Southern Railway - Tiruchchirappalli Division" (PDF). Southern Railway zone. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
11. ^ "Analysis of alternatives" (PDF). Tamil Nadu Road Sector Project. p. 33\. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
12. ^ M. V. L. Manikantan (21 December 2013). "Proposed Karaikal-Peralam line to boost freight traffic". The Hindu. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
13. ^ T. E. Raja Simhan (1 February 2010). "Karaikal scores high on rail connectivity". The Hindu. Business Line. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
14. ^ W. Francis; Frederick Nicholson; C. S. Middlemiss; C. A. Barber; E. Thurston; G. H. Stuart (2002). Gazetteer of South India. New Delhi: Mittal Publications. p. 127. Retrieved 1 January 2014.

## External links[edit]

* Southern Railways - Official Website

* v
* t
* e

Railways in Southern India

Authority|

* Ministry of Railways
* Railway Board

Zones and divisions|

| South Central|

* Hyderabad
* Secunderabad

|

South Coast|

* Guntakal
* Guntur
* Vijayawada
* Waltair

Southern|

* Chennai
* Madurai
* Palakkad
* Salem
* Thiruvananthapuram
* Tiruchirappalli

South Western|

* Bangalore
* Hubli
* Mysore

Suburban and metro|

| Operational|

| Suburban|

* Chennai Suburban
* Chennai MRTS
* Hyderabad MMTS

|

Metro|

* Chennai Metro
* Kochi Metro
* Hyderabad Metro
* Namma Metro

Proposed|

* Bengaluru Monorail
* Chennai Monorail
* Coimbatore Metro
* Kozhikode Light Metro
* Madurai Metro
* Thiruvananthapuram Light Metro
* Trichy Metro

Workshops|

* BEML Limited
* Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited
* Golden Rock
* Integral Coach Factory
* ICF coach
* Rail Wheel Factory

Depots|

| Electric Loco|

* Arakkonam
* Erode
* Guntakal
* Kazipet
* Lallaguda
* Royapuram
* Vijayawada
* Visakhapatnam

|

Diesel Loco|

* Coonoor
* Erode
* Ernakulam
* Golden Rock
* Gooty
* Guntakal
* Hubli
* Kazipet
* Tondiarpet
* Vijayawada
* Visakhapatnam

Steam Loco|

* Coonoor

Multiple Unit|

* Avadi
* Bangalore
* Kollam
* Palakkad
* Tambaram
* Velachery
* Vijayawada

Lines|

| Main|

* Chennai–Bangalore
* Chennai–Howrah
* Chennai–New Delhi
* Chennai–Mumbai

|

Broad Gauge|

* Bangalore–Hubli
* Bhimavaram–Narasapur
* Chennai–Thanjavur
* Ernakulam–Kayamkulam
* Ernakulam–Kottayam–Kayamkulam
* Erode–Tiruchirappalli
* Gudivada–Machilipatnam
* Jolarpettai–Shoranur
* Kollam–Sengottai
* Kollam–Thiruvananthapuram
* Kothapalli–Manoharabad
* Kothavalasa–Kirandul
* Madurai–Tirunelveli
* Manamadurai–Rameswaram
* Manamadurai–Virudhunagar
* Mangalore–Mysore
* Mysore–Bangalore
* Mysore–Chamarajanagar
* Nagercoil–Tirunelveli
* Nilambur–Shoranur
* Palakkad–Pollachi
* Peddapalli–Nizamabad
* Pune–Londa
* Samalkot–Kakinada
* Secunderabad–Manmad
* Tenali–Repalle
* Thiruvananthapuram–Kanyakumari
* Vijayawada–Nidadavolu
* Viluppuram–Tiruchirappalli

Mountain|

* Nilgiri Mountain Railway

Sections|

* Duvvada–Vijayawada
* Gudur–Renigunta
* Guntakal–Nandyal
* Guntakal–Renigunta
* Guntakal–Vasco da Gama
* Guntur–Tenali
* Hassan–Bangalore
* Kazipet–Vijayawada
* Khurda Road–Visakhapatnam
* Motumarri–Vishnupuram
* Nagpur–Secunderabad
* Nallapadu–Nandyal
* Nandyal–Yerraguntla
* Pagidipalli–Nallapadu
* Secunderabad–Dhone
* Shoranur–Cochin Harbour
* Shoranur–Mangalore
* Solapur–Guntakal
* Vijayawada–Gudur
* Vijayawada–Guntur

Inactive|

* Cochin State Forest Tramway
* Kundala Valley Railway
* Nilambur–Nanjangud line
* Sabarimala Railway

Passenger trains|

* Express
* High speed
* Luxury
* Passenger

Stations|

| Major|

* Arakkonam Jn.
* Chengalpattu Jn.
* Bengaluru
* KSR Bengaluru
* Yesvantpur Jn.
* Chennai
* Avadi
* Chennai Central
* Chennai Egmore
* Tambaram
* Coimbatore Jn.
* Ernakulam Jn.
* Hyderabad
* Hyderabad Deccan
* Kacheguda
* Secunderabad Jn.
* Katpadi Jn.
* Kozhikode
* Madurai Jn.
* Mysuru Jn.
* Thiruvananthapuram Central
* Thrissur
* Tirupati
* Tiruvallur
* Vijayawada Jn.
* Visakhapatnam Jn.

|

Railway companies|

| Active|

* Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL)
* Konkan Railway Corporation (KRCL)
* Kerala Rapid Transit Corporation (KRTCL)
* Kerala Rail Development Corporation (KRDC)

|

Defunct|

* East Coast State Railway
* Hyderabad–Godavari Valley Railways
* Madras Railway
* Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway
* Nizam's Guaranteed State Railway

Accidents
and incidents|

* South Indian railway strike (1928)
* Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway strike (1932)
* Indian Railway strike (1974)
* Peruman accident (1988)
* Nellore fire (2012)

Related articles|

* Bholu (mascot)
* Madras Time
* Timeline of Southern Railway zone

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