The Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway was a railway company that operated in southern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It was founded on 1 January 1908 by merging the

Madras Railway The Madras Railway (full name Madras Railway Company) played a pioneering role in developing railways in southern India and was merged in 1908 with Southern Mahratta Railway to form Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway. The Madras Railway was ...

and the

Southern Mahratta Railway Southern Mahratta Railway (SMR) was a railway company in British India founded in 1882. History Captain C. C. Johnson, officiating as constructing engineer of railways in 1858, forwarded the proposal for a railway to be constructed and called ...

. Initially, its headquarters was at

Royapuram Royapuram is a locality in the northern part of the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is best known for its beach, and for Royapuram Railway Station. The station is the first railway station of south India, opening in 1856, and is today ...

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

but was later shifted to a newly constructed building at

Egmore Egmore is a neighbourhood of Chennai, India. Situated on the northern banks of the Coovum River, Egmore is an important residential area as well as a commercial and transportation hub. The Egmore Railway Station was the main terminus of the Madr ...

, which was inaugurated on 11 December 1922. On 1 April 1944, its management was taken over directly by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

. On 14 April 1951, the Madras and South Mahratta Railway, the

South Indian Railway The South Indian Railway Company operated a number of gauge lines in South India from 1874 to 1951. History The Great Southern of India Railway Company was established with its headquarters in England in 1853. The Carnatic Railway Company w ...

and the

Mysore State Railway Mysore State Railway (MSR) was a railway which operated in Mysore state, India. MSR became a part of Southern Railway on 14 April 1951. History In 1879, the Madras Railway Company Constructed a railway line from Madras Royapuram to Bangalor ...

were merged to form the Southern Railway, one of the 16 zones of the

Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tot ...

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In 1936 the company owned 663 locomotives, 1561 coaches and 15.092 goods wagons. Beypore Railway Station, Chaliyam

Map of the Madras and South Mahratta Railway lines

Classification

It was labeled as a Class I railway according to Indian Railway Classification System of 1926.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Madras And Southern Mahratta Railway Defunct railway companies of India Rail transport in Tamil Nadu Indian companies established in 1908 Railway companies established in 1908

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Classification

See also

References