Chennai: Royapuram Railway Station celebrates 170 years with Station Mahotsav
The Chennai Division of Southern Railway marked the anniversary of the historic station with a special heritage steam locomotive run.
The Chennai Division of Southern Railway celebrated ‘Station Mahotsav’ on Wednesday, November 4, at the Royapuram Railway Station to mark 170 years of the facility. According to The Federal, the station is one of the oldest surviving railway stations in the Indian subcontinent.
A highlight of the event was a heritage run of the EIR-22, which is one of the oldest working steam locomotives in the world. The train was flagged off from Chennai Egmore by Southern Railway General Manager U Subba Rao, alongside Additional General Manager Vipin Kumar and Divisional Railway Manager (Chennai Division) Shailendra Singh.
Visitors at the station viewed various vintage railway items. These included old weighing equipment, a Station Master table from a century ago, Edmondson ticket machines, and Jacquard loom punched cards. Other items displayed were leather pouches for coins, a signboard over 100 years old, cast-iron level crossing keys, and antique lighting such as gas lamps and carriage lanterns.
Royapuram was inaugurated on June 28, 1856, and served as the first railway station in South India. It hosted the first passenger train service in the region on July 1, 1856, running between Royapuram and Wallajah Road.
The EIR-22 steam engine was built in 1855 by Kitson, Thompson and Hewitson in England. After serving until 1909, it was restored to mainline readiness by Perambur Loco Works in 1997. It received a Guinness World Record in 1998 as the oldest working steam engine in commercial service.