CHENNAI : The evening before a train journey involved jitters and double-checking luggage for the often-forgotten toothbrush. As a child, I was convinced trains were sociable snakes — as detailed in my grandmother’s stories — that chugged beyond Bengaluru’s traffic-clogged streets, paddy fields, and towns. This blue reptile promptly dropped us at our usual destination, the sweltering Chennai Central Station.
Echoing announcements on loudspeakers, blinking schedule boards, and steaming cups of tea. This heritage building amassed stories of the city and busy passengers elbowing past. On Saturday, for the first time, I hear the stories of the origin of Central Station and other British-era buildings, a trail uncovering an intricate colonial history. Did you know the name of Central Railway Station, built in 1873, was changed thrice? Its current official name — Puratchi Thalaivar Dr MG Ramachandran Central Railway Station — is one letter short of becoming the world’s longest name for a railway station, offers Ashmitha Athreya, head of operations of Madras Inherited, during a heritage walk — ‘A Stroll through the Railways’. The initiative — conducted for the first time — was in association with the Southern Railway.
Around 20 eager listeners gather outside the entrance of the Southern Railway Headquarters by 6.30 am. As Ashmitha gently presents facts and dates, some members furiously take notes while a few sketch out the scene on paper. “You may also think that the first track that the British laid was Bombay to Thane in 1853. But the tracks were constructed in Madras for experimental, not commercial purposes. One set was laid in Chintadripet and another between Redhills and St Thomas Mount,” says Ashmitha.
Our guide flips past photographs and centuries of the city’s heritage buildings. “Before trains, there was surface transport. It was the privileged who had access to palanquins and bullock carts. The railways became a canvas for the British to leave a lasting impression and exert strength. The railways aimed for military power and strength.”As the seeds of the Madras rule were sowed via rail, the best spot to examine long-reaching roots were the Southern Railway Headquarters and the city’s two major railway stations.
Adieu Royapuram station
Central Station now stands on a parcel of land that once belonged to John Pereira, a Portuguese merchant.
Eventually, Pereira would lose this land to the station and two streets in Chennai would carry on his title. Now, perhaps exceeding the merchant’s expectations, Central Station sees over five lakh passengers daily.
Ashmitha directs us to the quietest spot she has been able to locate, near the entrance. In the rare hushed seconds, she mentions this corner spot belonged to the original structure, before its many renovations. “In 1866, work began for a second railway station. The initial idea was to shift a couple of lines to Central, which was supposed to be a secondary station to Royapuram. This was the beginning of the end for Royapuram Railway Station. Back then, there were four platforms at Central and now there are 12. The buildings are lasting legacies of architectural styles such as Roman twin arches called arcades,” she details.
While the architects, George Harding, and Robert Fellowes Chisholm, are long gone, their building continues to evolve — it was the first station to be put on the cyber map, and recently received a braille map.
Indo-Saramec sensibilities
Obscured by trees and overshadowed by Central Station, passersby often drive past the offices of the Southern Railway. A closer examination would reveal the Indo-Saramec style building with Dravidian sensibilities — distinct from its colonial cousins across the city — and records of fragmented administration. “There’s European sensibility in planning and the Indian facade as themed by the British is not regional, it was a political move,” says Ashmitha.
Over the decades, several railway companies, 42 in total, cropped up in Madras, the first being Madras Railway Company set up in 1845 and eventually dissolved in 1852/3. The headquarters of Madras & Southern Mahratta Railway (M&SMR) set up shop at Royapuram, the first station in Madras. Eventually razed down, a new headquarters was designed by N Grayson and constructed by contractor T Samynada Pillai at Park Town in 1915 and inaugurated in 1922. “Architecture in Madras by the East India Company — from the high courts to corporation offices — face the beach. This building had pioneering construction as it used reinforced concrete for the foundation, one of the first in Madras. Labourers were brought from Bombay and the sub-structure has granite from Pavallaram, brick-clad with stone from Porbandar,” explains our guide for the day.
Following in the other firms’ footsteps, the Southern Railway, as it is now known, came into existence in 1951 after absorbing M&SMR, the South Indian Railway, and the Mysore State Railway. “Southern Railway is the fourth largest company and this zone takes care of Kerala, Puducherry, and Tamil Nadu.” A lasting inheritance from the M&SMR is a logo embossed on the IN gate.
Inside the headquarters, the past gazes at us from a Mahatma Gandhi bust, hovers near the wide staircase and the large courtyards, and is glued along with anti-privatisation posters on the walls. On the first floor, the group assembles near a bell with a skull illustration at its base. “It would indicate they were under attack or used for a pledge and calling meetings,” says Ashmitha. An officer rings the bell, gesturing it was in use. Weary officials, now and then, might be united in their jumpy distaste at the resounding chime.
Tale of seven hamlets
After a 10-minute Metro ride and a swift walk past the winding foot-over bridge, the final stop is Egmore Railway Station. Its Tamil name station ‘Ezhumbur’ flags its origin, a combination of seven villages.
The group makes a pit stop at a lane near the station’s entry gate. “Egmore Station, built in 1908, was to be a terminus for the South Indian railways. Records suggest there was a small station here and the land initially belonged to S Pulney Andy, a doctor by profession. The architect was Henry Irwin who designed the Madras High Court and the work cost `17 lakh. Trains from Central were northbound and those from Egmore were southbound, ” says Ashmitha. The linear structure of the building had been built in parts, and the style of the semi-circular arch was borrowed from the Mughals.
The group peeks into the station and focuses on the ironworks seen on the roof. “This was a big achievement at the time as it doesn’t cover one platform but multiple ones,” she explains. At one point in time, Egmore had drive-in facilities and a highly-recommended waiting room.
Our last stop involved searching for the station’s clock, which disappointingly had been covered. I trek back over the foot-over bridge and the familiar blue snake zooms below, transporting travellers to their destinations. As time ticks on, these revamped heritage buildings continue to be repositories of a colonial past and hoard the many stories of their visitors.