Ambattur railway station is one of the main railway stations of the

Chennai Central 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 ...

–

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 ...

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 th ...

. It serves the neighbourhood of

Ambattur Ambattur is located in northwestern part of Chennai City, in Ambattur taluk of the Chennai District, surrounded by Avadi, Anna Nagar, Padi, Mogappair, Kallikuppam, Surapet, Korattur, Ayappakkam, and Thiruverkadu. It covers an area of . The nei ...

, a suburb 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 ...

located 17 km west of the city centre. It is situated at Varadarajapuram in

, with an elevation of 19.18 metres 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 standardis ...

History

The first lines in the station were electrified on 29 November 1979, with the electrification of the Chennai Central–

Tiruvallur Tiruvallur is a Grade I municipality and a fast developing city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of Coovum river about from downtown Chennai (Madras) and just 5 km from megacity border, in the western p ...

section. Additional lines at the station were electrified on 2 October 1986, with the electrification of the

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 ...

– Tiruninravur section. On 21 January 1946 at 4.15 p.m.,

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

visited the station, who was received by

Kamaraj Kumaraswami Kamaraj (15 July 1903 – 2 October 1975, hinduonnet.com. 15–28 September 2001), popularly known as Kamarajar was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the Chief Minister of Madras State (Tamil Nadu) ...

Layout

The station has Eight tracks, including four loop lines, and has three platforms. The first platform is a

side platform A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platfo ...

and houses the station's entrance and the ticket counter. The second and third platforms lie on an

island platform An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular o ...

. The platforms are connected by means of a

footbridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at ...

. A second footbridge built at the level crossing connects the northern and southern sides of the neighbourhood. In 2001, Southern Railways renovated the footbridge at the level crossing at a cost of 400,000. A railway concrete sleeper manufacturing company was located at the northwestern side of the station until 2015, which is served by loop lines radiating from the station. As of 2013, the station handles about 50,000 passengers a day. This includes commuters from areas around Ambattur such as Padi, Mannurpet, Karukku, Kallikuppam, Menambedu and Pattaravakkam. Every day, suburban trains make around 260 trips through the station.

Development

According to a railway release in 2008, there are plans to develop the station as a coaching terminal (satellite terminal) for Chennai Central railway station, on the lines of Tambaram station being developed as a terminal for Egmore railway station. In June 2014, the station was renovated in a major way after decades of neglect. In 2019, work on the extension of platforms to accommodate 24-rake long-distance trains began. In 2019, the construction work for a new footbridge connecting Platforms 1 and 2 began, replacing the existing one.

References

External links

Ambattur station at Indiarailinfo.com
{{Transport in Chennai Stations of Chennai Suburban Railway Railway stations in Chennai Railway stations in Tiruvallur district

History

Layout

Development

See also

References

External links