Salem Junction railway station

Salem Junction railway station (station code: SA^[1]) is an NSG–2 category Indian railway station in Salem railway division of Southern Railway zone.^[2] It serves the city of Salem in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the major transit points in Southern India.

Salem Junction
Indian Railways station
New renovated entrance of Salem Junction
General information
Location	Junction Main road, Suramanagalam, Salem, Tamil Nadu, India
Coordinates	11°40′17.05″N 78°6′47.6″E
Elevation	288 metres (945 ft)
Owned by	Indian Railways
Line(s)	Jolarpettai–Shoranur line Salem–Karur line Salem-Vriddhachalam Salem–dharmapuri-Bengaluru , Mettur dam
Platforms	6
Tracks	8
Connections	Goods terminal, Taxi Stand, Satellite Town Bus Terminal
Construction
Structure type	on ground station
Parking	Available
Bicycle facilities	Available
Accessible
Other information
Status	Active
Station code	SA[1]
Zone(s)	Southern Railway
Division(s)	Salem railway division
History
Electrified	Yes
Passengers
50,000 per day on average
Location Interactive map

History

Salem Junction's entrance before renovation

The station came into existence as part of the Chennai (then Madras)–Beypore (present-day Kerala) rail line in the 1860s. The station gained its junction status when the metre-gauge line was laid to Vridachalam, providing a connection to the South Indian railway network. After independence, the abandoned narrow-gauge line of Dharmapuri–Morappur was re-built and alignment changed to terminate the line at Salem Junction instead of Morappur. It was upgraded to metre gauge simultaneously. Salem to Bangalore via Hosur 124-mile-long railway line survey was sanctioned on 25 July 1955 and field work started on 27 February 1956.^[3] In the 1990s, this railway line was converted to broad gauge. In the 2000s, the Vriddachalam line was also converted to broad gauge, making the station a complete broad-gauge station. The long-pending new broad-gauge railway line to Karur, started in the late 1990s, was commissioned in 2013. This paved way for a shorter, more direct route to southern districts of Tamil Nadu from Salem. This new direct route (from Karur jn to Salem jn line) leads to diversion of many trains from Southern Tamil Nadu to Bangalore and Katpadi route via Namakkal.

Connectivity and infrastructure

Salem Junction has 24-hour continuous (Bus No:13) bus service to Town Bus Station (Old Bus Stand) and Central Bus Stand (New Bus Stand). The nearest airport is Salem Airport, which is 18 km (11 mi) away from the station. 24-hour taxi service from the railway station is available. There are originating passenger trains in all junction lines. It is an upgraded A–grade station. The station has a subway for every platform and platform bridges with escalators. The station has six platforms and eight tracks.^[4]

Facilities

Salem Junction at night

The AC Waiting Hall at 1st, 3rd, and 4th Platforms with toilet facilities cost Rs:20/hr.^[5] The second entrance with ticket counter at Old Suramangalam Road is planning to construct with subway and footover. Platforms 1, 3 and 4 are operated with 24-hour lifts and escalators.^[6]

It has IRCTC Railway Canteen Platform No:3&4. Anandha Bhavan and Ashok Bhavan are nearby restaurants, and Hotel Ashwa Park, Raddison, Sivaraj Holiday Inn, and CJ Plazzio are nearby hotels.

The Salem Railway Division introduced battery operated car service on a payment basis at the Salem Railway Junction, available on platform numbers 3 and 4. The service is meant mainly for senior citizens, differently abled people, and ailing persons.^[7]

On 26 December 2017, Salem Junction got free Wi-Fi connectivity. The facility is being provided by RailTel, a public sector telecom infrastructure provider.^[8]

Projects and development

It is one of the 73 stations in Tamil Nadu to be named for upgradation under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme of Indian Railways.^[9]

Awards and achievements

In 2019, the station was granted ISO–14001 certification for complying with NGT (nation Green Tribunal).^[10] The station has been rated as the cleanest station among the divisional headquarters railway stations and also the ninth cleanest railway station in the entire country, according to a survey report published in June 2017.^[11]

Lines

Salem Junction Railway station nameboard

Salem–Karur–Dindigul line
Legend
km to Jolarpettai Junction to Bangalore City to Mettur Dam 0 Salem Junction to Vriddhachalam Junction to Erode Junction 13 Mallur 26 Rasipuram 34 Puduchatram 40 Kalangani 52 Namakkal 59 Laddivadi 70 Mohanur 74 Vangal to Erode Junction 86 Karur Junction to Tiruchirappalli Junction 91 Thandoni 101 Velliyani 115 Palaiyam 131 Vembur 139 Eriodu SATooltip Salem railway division limits MDUTooltip Madurai railway division limits to Tiruchirappalli Junction to Pollachi 160 Dindigul Junction to Madurai Junction

The Salem–Karur–Dindigul line is a very important line in Southern Railway (SR), which acts as a Direct, No-Reversal gateway from Salem to Tiruchirappalli, Dindigul, Madurai, Virudhunagar, Tirunelveli etc, for trains coming from/via Bangalore (SBC/YPR/SMVT), Tirupati (TPTY) and Chennai Central (MAS).

Salem–Palakkad line
Legend
km 37  Mettur Dam 24  Mecheri Road to Bangalore City 8  Omalur Junction 3  Magnesite Junction to Jolarpettai Junction 0 Salem Junction to Vriddhachalam Junction Salem Steel Plant to Namakkal 7 Neykkarapatti 10 Virapandy Road 21 Madudanchavadi 33 Mavelipalaiyam 38 Sankaridurg State Highway 86 46 Anangur State Highway 79 55 Cauvery State Highway 198 River Kaveri to Karur Junction State Highway 83A 60 Erode Junction 61 Erode Diesel Loco Shed 66 Totiyapalayam 73 Perundurai 79 Ingur State Highway 96 87 Vijayamangalam 96 Uttukuli State Highway 81 State Highway 19A 103 Tiruppur Kulipalayam Tiruppur Ring Road 110 Tiruppur Tiruppur Ring Road State Highway 166 118 Vanjipalayam State Highway 165 128 Somanur 137 Sulur Road National Highway 544 144 Irugur Junction National Highway 181 162 Podanur Junction 14  Singanallur 9  Pilamedu National Highway 948 0  Coimbatore Junction 3  Coimbatore North Junction 14  Periyanaickenpalayam 26  Karaimadai 33  Mettupalayam Nilgiri Mountain Railway (metre-gauge) State Highway 162 to Pollachi Junction National Highway 948 ACC Limited plant 163 Madukkarai 168 Ettimadai Tamil Nadu Kerala border 177 Walayar 181 Chullimada 188 Kanjikode Malampuzha River 199 Kottekad 201 Palakkad Junction to Shoranur Junction
Source: Google Maps
This diagram: view talk edit

Salem–Bangalore line
Legend
to Bangalore City to Hubli Lottegallohalli 225 Hebbal 222 Banaswadi 210 Belandur Road 197 Karmelaram 194 Heelalige 183 Anekal Road 173 Karnataka Tamil Nadu border Hosur 158 Kelamangalam 144 Periyanaga Thunai 135 Rayakottai 119 Marandahalli 101 Palakkodu 89 to Morappur Dharmapuri Junction 66 Sivadi 55 Muttampatti 47 Toppur 35 Mettur Dam 39 Mecheri Road 27 Tolasampatti 19 Omalur Junction 11 to Jolarpettai Junction Magnesite Junction 3 Salem Junction 0 to Vriddhachalam Junction Salem Steel Plant to Karur Junction to Erode Junction
This diagram: view talk edit

v t e Salem–Virudhachalam line
Legend
km to Jolarpettai Junction to Bangalore City to Mettur Dam 0 Salem Junction to Erode Junction to Karur Junction 4.3 Salem Market 6.3 Salem Town 14.3 Ayodhyapattanam 19.9 Minnampalli 33 Valappadi G Halt 40.5 Ettapur Road 44.6 Pedanayakanpalayam 56 Attur 73 Talaivasal 80.9 Melnariyapanur 87.7 Chinna Salem 95 Siruvattur 100 Pukkirivari 105.8 Kuttakudi 116.5 Mukhasa Parur 139 Vriddhachalam Junction to Villupuram Junction to Tiruchirappalli Junction to Cuddalore Port Junction

v t e Salem–Jolarpettai line
Legend
km to Chennai Central 120 Jolarpettai Junction to Bangalore City 116 Jolarpettai Chord Cabin 113 Tiruppattur Junction 101 Kagankarai 96 Kunnathur 89 Samalpatti 81 Dasampatti 73 Doddampatti 65.8 Morappur 59.6 Thonganur 53.2 Buddireddipatti 43.2 Bommidi 33.1 Lokur 23.7 Danishpet 16.6 Tinnappatti 6.5 Karuppur to Bangalore City to Mettur Dam 3.4 Magnesite Junction 0 Salem Junction to Salem Steel Plant to Villupuram Junction to Erode Junction to Karur Junction
Source: Google Maps

There are Five lines branching out from the station:

• Double Electrified BG line towards Chennai Central^[12]
• Double Electrified BG line towards Coimbatore Junction^[13]
• Double Electrified BG line towards Magnesite, Omalur & Singular Line to Bengaluru City Via Dharmapuri ^[14] (doubling and electrification Proposed from Omalur to Dharmapuri)
• Single electric BG line towards Cuddalore Port Junction^[14][15]
• Single Electrified BG line towards Karur Junction^[16][17][18](doubling and electrification Proposed)

References

1. "Station Code Index" (PDF). Portal of Indian Railways. Centre For Railway Information Systems. 2023–24. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2024. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
2. "SOUTHERN RAILWAY LIST OF STATIONS AS ON 01.04.2023 (CATEGORY- WISE)" (PDF). Portal of Indian Railways. Centre For Railway Information Systems. 1 April 2023. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 March 2024. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
3. https://eparlib.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/56057/1/lsd_01_14_23-11-1956.pdf page 4
4. "Salem among top 10 cleanest railway stations". The Hindu. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
5. "Pay and use waiting hall in Salem junction". The Hindu. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
6. "Salem Junction gets new amenities". The Hindu. 20 August 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
7. "Salem Junction gets battery operated car". The Hindu. 9 December 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
8. "From today Salem junction get free wifi Services" (in Tamil). Dinakaran. 26 December 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
9. "AMRIT BHARAT STATIONS". Press Information Bureau. New Delhi. 10 February 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
10. ISO, Salem. "Salem junction gets ISO 14001 certification". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
11. Cleanest, Salem. "Salem among top 10 cleanest railway stations". The Hindu. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
12. "Salem–Jolarpet railway track renewal work completed in 4 days". Business Line. 17 June 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
13. "Diversion of four trains resented". The Hindu. 22 November 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
14. "Salem – Vridhachalam train service". The Hindu. 4 June 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
15. "drmsalem inspects electrification works on salem-vridhachalam". 28 November 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
16. "CRS begins inspection of Salem–Karur electrified stretch". The Hindu. 27 December 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
17. "Karur-Namakkal-Salem line opens new connectivity options". The Hindu. 18 May 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
18. "Southern Railways: Salem–Karur line to be electrified". The Hindu. 12 October 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2018.