Southern Railway headquarters celebrates centenary

The interiors of the Southern Railway headquarters lit up in blue to celebrate its centenary. Photo: Special arrangement

The landmark building housing the headquarters of Southern Railway located adjacent to the Central railway station has completed a century.

The palatial building, displaying a decommissioned steam loco engine PL691 at the front, which no one would miss, on Poonamallee High Road was inaugurated by Lady Willingdon, the wife of the then Governor of Madras Freeman Freeman-Thomas, on December 11, 1922.

To mark the centenary of the headquarters’ inauguration, the Southern Railway organised a heritage walk led by historian V. Sriram. He elaborated on the history and design of the majestic edifice, which has served as the headquarters of the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway, and later became the headquarters of the Southern Railway in 1951 after the merging of the erstwhile Madras and Southern Mahratta, Mysore State and South Indian Railways.

The foundation of the building was laid by Lord Pentland, the then Governor of Madras, in 1915. Designed by N. Grayson, an architect and employee of the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway, it cost ₹30.76 lakh and was constructed by T. Samynada Pillai, a Bengaluru-based building contractor. A postal cover to mark the centenary of the headquarters was released in January this year.