Royapuram is a locality in the northern part of the city of

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 ...

, Tamil Nadu, India. It is best known for its beach, and for

Royapuram Railway Station Royapuram railway station (station code: RPM) is a railway station at Royapuram, on the Chennai Beach–Walajapet section of the Chennai Suburban Railway network in Chennai, India. It is the second oldest railway station currently operational ...

. The station is the first railway station of

south India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

, opening in 1856, and is today the oldest surviving railway station of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

History

The region existed as a well known settlement during the Chola times, but the name Royapuram is derived from a Tamil appellation for St. Peter, Royappa, in connection with St. Peter's Church in the area. The region was originally called Rayarapuram named after the Rayar Kings who rules down South. It is also believed that the British / Anglo Indias settled in this locality were called Rayars which lent the name Rayarpuram From the 14th century, the erstwhile Vijayanagara Rulers controlled this region till the Madras land grant to Francis Day. Royapuram-Stn-Oct07

was the first railway station constructed in

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

and second railway line in

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

. The first train service commenced in 1856 from here to

Arcot Arcot (natively spelt as Ārkāḍu) is a town and urban area of Ranipet district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Located on the southern banks of Palar River, the city straddles a trade route between Chennai and Bangalore or Salem, between t ...

, the then capital of the

Carnatic region The Carnatic region is the peninsular South Indian region between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal, in the erstwhile Madras Presidency and in the modern Indian states of Tamil Nadu and southern Andhra Pradesh. During the British er ...

Politics

State assembly politics

Lok Sabha politics

Royapuram assembly constituency is part of Chennai North (Lok Sabha constituency).

References

{{Chennai Topics Neighbourhoods in Chennai Coastal neighbourhoods of Chennai