The Mumbai–Chennai line is a railway line connecting
Chennai
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 ...
and
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
cutting across southern part of the
Deccan Plateau
The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by the ...
. It covers a distance of across
Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
,
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
,
Telangana
Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...
,
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
and
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
. The Mumbai–Chennai line is a part of
Diamond Quadrilateral
The Diamond Quadrilateral is a project of the Indian Railways to establish a high-speed rail network in India.
The Diamond Quadrilateral will connect the four mega cities of India, viz. Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, similar to the Golde ...
.
Sections
The -long trunk line, amongst the long and busy trunk lines connecting the metros, has been treated in more detail in smaller sections:
#
Central line (Mumbai Suburban Railway)
#
Mumbai Dadar–Solapur section
The Mumbai Dadar–Solapur section is part of the Mumbai–Chennai line. It connects Mumbai Dadar and both in the Indian state of Maharashtra.
History
The first passenger train in India from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in Mumbai t ...
#
Solapur–Guntakal section
The Solapur–Guntakal section (also known as Solapur–Guntakal line) is part of the Mumbai–Chennai line. It connects in the Indian state of Maharashtra and in Andhra Pradesh.
History
Great Indian Peninsula Railway, opened the Pune–Raich ...
#
Guntakal–Renigunta section
#
Renigunta–Chennai section
History
The first passenger train in India from
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (officially Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Bombay station code: CSMT ( mainline)/ST ( suburban)), is a historic railway terminus and UNESCO World Heritage Site in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
The terminus was ...
in Mumbai to
Thane
Thane (; also known as Thana, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city in Maharashtra, India. It is situated in the north-eastern portion of the Salsette Island. Thane city is entirely within Thane taluka, one of the seven talukas ...
ran on 16 April 1853 on the track laid by the
Great Indian Peninsula Railway
The Great Indian Peninsula Railway (reporting mark GIPR) was a predecessor of the Central Railway (and by extension, the current state-owned Indian Railways), whose headquarters was at the Boree Bunder in Mumbai (later, the Victoria Terminu ...
. The GIPR line was extended to
Kalyan
Kalyan (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, 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) ...
in 1854 and then on the south-east side to
Khopoli
Khopoli (also known as Campoolie) is an industrial city in the Khalapur taluka of Raigad district, in the Indian state of Maharashtra, at the base of the Sahyadri mountains. Patalganga River, which is the tailrace channel of the Tata Hydroelect ...
via
Palasdari railway station
Palasdari (formerly Padusdhurree, station code: PDI) is a railway station on the Central line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway network.
It is also on Karjat–Lonavala
Lonavala ( ISO: Loṇāvaḷā) is a hill station town and a Municipal C ...
at the foot of the
Western Ghats in 1856. While construction work was in progress across the
Bhor Ghat
Bhor Ghat is a mountain pass located between and for railway and between Khopoli and Khandala on the road route in Maharashtra, India, on the crest of the Western Ghats.
History
In February 1781, Bhorghat was the site of a battle between th ...
, GIPR opened to public the
Khandala
Khandala is a hill station in the Western Ghats in the state of Maharashtra, India, about from Lonavala, 12 kilometres from Khopoli and from Karjat.
Khandala is located at the top end of the Bhor Ghat, a major ''ghat'' (meaning valley in ...
–
Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...
track in 1858.
The Bhor Ghat incline connecting Palasdari to Khandala was completed in 1862, thereby connecting Mumbai and Pune.
The Western Ghats presented a big obstacle to the railway engineers in the 1860s. The summit of the
Bhor Ghat
Bhor Ghat is a mountain pass located between and for railway and between Khopoli and Khandala on the road route in Maharashtra, India, on the crest of the Western Ghats.
History
In February 1781, Bhorghat was the site of a battle between th ...
(earlier spelt as Bhore Ghat) incline being 2,027 feet. The maximum gradient was: 1 in 37 with extreme curvature. "The works on the Bhore ghat comprised 25 tunnels of a total length of nearly 4,000 yards, two of the longest being 435 yards and 341 yards respectively. The Bhore ghat have eight lofty viaducts having a total length of 2,961 feet. Two of the largest are more than 500 feet long with a maximum height of 1160 and 163 feet. There are 22 bridges of spans from 7 to 30 feet and 81 culverts of various sizes." The construction of the Bhor Ghat incline came at a high price: an estimated 24,000 builders died during the eight years of construction.
The Pune–Raichur sector of the Mumbai–Chennai line was opened in stages: the portion from Pune to Barshi Road was opened in 1859, from Barshi Road to Mohol in 1860 and from Mohol to Solapur also in 1860. Work on the line from Solapur southwards was begun in 1865 and the line was extended to Raichur in 1871. Thus the line met the line of
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 ...
thereby establishing direct Mumbai–Chennai link.
The first passenger train in southern India and the third in India was operated by
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 ...
from
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 ...
to Wallajah Road (Arcot) in 1856. MR extended its trunk route to Beypur / Kadalundi (near Calicut) and initiated work on a north-western branch out of
Arakkonam
Arakkonam () is a railway town and suburb of Chennai within Chennai Metropolitan Area limit, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, with a population of 78,395 per the census 2011. It is in the newly created Ranipet district, about from Ranipet head ...
in 1861. The branch line reached Renigunta in 1862,
and to
Raichur
Raichur (formerly Raichore) is a city and municipality in the district of Raichur in the Indian state of Karnataka. Raichur, located between Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers, is the headquarters of Raichur district. It is located 409 km fr ...
in 1871, where it connected to the
Great Indian Peninsula Railway
The Great Indian Peninsula Railway (reporting mark GIPR) was a predecessor of the Central Railway (and by extension, the current state-owned Indian Railways), whose headquarters was at the Boree Bunder in Mumbai (later, the Victoria Terminu ...
line from Mumbai.
Electrification
Railway electrification in India began with the first electric train, between
Bombay Victoria Terminus and
Kurla
Kurla (Pronunciation: uɾlaː is a neighbourhood of East Mumbai, India. It is the headquarters of the Kurla taluka of Mumbai Suburban district. The neighbourhood is named after the eponymous East Indian village that it grew out of. It falls u ...
by the
Great Indian Peninsula Railway
The Great Indian Peninsula Railway (reporting mark GIPR) was a predecessor of the Central Railway (and by extension, the current state-owned Indian Railways), whose headquarters was at the Boree Bunder in Mumbai (later, the Victoria Terminu ...
's (GIPR) on 3 February 1925, on 1.5 kV DC. The Kalyan–Pune section was electrified with 1.5 kV DC overhead system in 1930.
The previously used 1.5 kV DC was converted to 25 kV AC on 5 May 2013 from Kalyan to Khopoli and Kalyan to Kasara. Conversion from 1.5 kV DC to 25 kV AC on the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Thane-Kalyan section was completed on 12 January 2014.
["Soon, faster trains on Kalyan-LTT route" - ''The Times of India''](_blank)
Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com (13 January 2014). Retrieved on 2014-06-11. The CSMT to LTT section was converted from 1.5 kV DC to 25 kV AC on 8 June 2015.
["Central Railway plans DC/AC switch in May" - ''The Times of India''](_blank)
Timesofindia.indiatimes.com (25 March 2014). Retrieved on 2014-06-11. The Kasara-Pune section was also converted from 1.5 kV DC to 25 kV AC.
The Pune–Daund section as well as Daund-Bhigwan section was electrified in 2017. The electrification of the Bhigwan-Kalaburgi section was completed by March 2022.
The Kalaburgi-Wadi section was electrified in 2018.
The Renigunta–Nandalur sector electrification was completed in 2006. The Nandalur–Guntakal sector was electrified by Dec 2013.
The electrification of the Guntakal-Wadi section was completed in 2015.
The Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station–Tiruvallur sector, as well as the Basin Bridge–Chennai Beach sector were electrified in 1979–80. The Tiruvallu–Arakkonam sector was electrified in 1982–83, Arakkonam–Tiruttani sector in 1983–84 and the Tiruttani–Renigunta sector in 1984–85.
Hence, the entire Mumbai-Chennai route is completely electrified.
Speed limit
The stretch between
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (officially Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Bombay station code: CSMT ( mainline)/ST ( suburban)), is a historic railway terminus and UNESCO World Heritage Site in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
The terminus was ...
and
Kalyan
Kalyan (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, 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) ...
is classified as 'Group A' line, where trains can take speed up to 160 km/h. The Kalyan–Pune–Daund–Wadi line and the Wadi–Raichur–Adoni–Arrakonam–
line are classified as 'Group B' lines and can take speeds up to 130 km/h.
Passenger movement
CST Mumbai,
Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...
,
Solapur
Solapur () is a city located in the south-western region of the Indian state of Maharashtra, close to its border with Karnataka. Solapur is located on major highway, rail routes between Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad, with a branch line ...
and
MGR Central, on this line, are amongst the top hundred booking stations of Indian Railway.
References
External links
Trains at Mumbai CSTTrains at PuneTrains at DaundTrains at SolapurTrains at WadiTrains at RaichurTrains at AdoniTrains at GuntakalTrains at Chennai Central
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mumbai-Chennai line
5 ft 6 in gauge railways in India
Railway lines opened in 1871
Rail transport in Tamil Nadu
Rail transport in Andhra Pradesh
Rail transport in Karnataka
Rail transport in Maharashtra
1871 establishments in India