Villivakkam railway station is a railway station on the Chennai Central–Arakkonam section of the
Chennai Suburban Railway Network
The Chennai Suburban Railway is a commuter rail system in the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, operated by the Southern Railways branch of Indian Railways. It is the second largest suburban rail network in terms of route length and the third ...
a 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 ...
in India. Located 9 km from
Chennai Central railway station
Chennai Central (station code: MAS, short for ''Madras''), officially known as Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station, is the main railway terminus in the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is the busiest railway ...
, the station serves the neighbourhood of
Villivakkam
Villivakkam is a neighbourhood of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is served by the Villivakkam railway station on the Chennai Central–Arakkonam suburban section. Villivakkam is the largest state assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu in terms of ...
,
Kolathur and
Padi. It has an elevation of 10.25 m above
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...
.
History
![VillivakkamStation View1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/VillivakkamStation_View1.jpg)
The first lines in the station were electrified on 29 November 1979, with the electrification of the Chennai Central–Tiruvallur section. Additional lines at the station were electrified on 2 October 1986, with the electrification of the Villivakkam–Avadi section.
Facilities
The station has a foot overbridge for pedestrian, a level crossing and a vehicular subway. The vehicular subway, whose construction was started on 4 December 2007 and which replaced the previous level crossing 2 (LC2), was opened to traffic on 19 June 2012 and is located on the western side of the station. The 447.50-m-long subway linking north Villivakkam with south Villivakkam was built at a cost of 390 million, which also has a 2.5-m-wide bicycle lane. The level crossing 1 (LC1), located at the eastern side of the station (between Villivakkam and
Perambur Loco Works
Perambur Loco Works is a suburban railway station in the Perambur area of the city of Chennai, in Tamil Nadu, in India. It serves the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) that is one of the largest railroad carriage and locomotive manufacturers in the ...
stations), is being replaced with a 460-meter-long road overbridge being built at a cost of 590 million. The level crossing is located adjacent to the
Integral Coach Factory
Integral Coach Factory (ICF) is a manufacturer of ICF coach, rail coaches located in Perambur, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It was established in 1955 and is owned and operated by the Indian Railways. It is located in Perambur, in the suburbs of ...
(ICF) and connects several residential areas in both Villivakkam and Kolathur. The road overbridge will be 8.5 meters wide (with a carriageway of 7.5 meters) and will have 11 pillars. The bridge connects East Seeyalam Street with Villivakkam East Railway Crossing Road in Kumaran Nagar.
About 900 tickets are issued every day at the station, of which 400 are from the northern side. In 2002, a ticket counter was opened on the northern side. However, it was closed down in 2005 owing to low patronage.
Demographics
The nearby Kolathur area has around 500,000 people residing in 54 colonies, and about 25,000 people are daily using the service of Chennai suburban railway trains.
As of 2013, the station handles about 32,000 passengers a day.
See also
*
Chennai Suburban Railway
The Chennai Suburban Railway is a commuter rail system in the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, operated by the Southern Railways branch of Indian Railways. It is the second largest suburban rail network in terms of route length and the third ...
*
Integral Coach Factory
Integral Coach Factory (ICF) is a manufacturer of ICF coach, rail coaches located in Perambur, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It was established in 1955 and is owned and operated by the Indian Railways. It is located in Perambur, in the suburbs of ...
*
Regional Railway Museum
*
Railway stations in Chennai
Chennai, the capital city of the state of Tamil Nadu, India, and the headquarters of the Southern Railway zone, is a major rail transport hub in the country. It has over 40 railway stations which are part of an extensive suburban railway ne ...
References
External links
Villivakkam station at Indiarailinfo.com
{{Chennai Topics
Stations of Chennai Suburban Railway
Railway stations in Chennai