Pudukkottai railway station

Pudukkottai புதுக்கோட்டை
Indian Railway Station
File:Pudukkottai Railway station boards.JPG Railway station with name sign
Location	Nainar Colony, Pudukkottai- 622 003, Tamil Nadu India
Coordinates
Elevation	90 metres (300 ft)
Owned by	Indian Railways
Operated by	Southern Railway zone
Line(s)	Tiruchirappalli–Karaikudi
Platforms	3
Tracks	4
Connections	Auto rickshaw, Cab
Construction
Structure type	At–grade
Parking	Yes
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Disabled access
Other information
Status	Functioning
Station code	PDKT
Zone(s)	Southern Railway Zone
Division(s)	Madurai
Fare zone	Indian Railways
History
Opened	17 April 1929 (1929-04-17)
Electrified	No
Traffic
Passengers	1000 per day (approx.)
Services
Preceding station   Indian Railways   Following station Vellanur towards Tiruchirappalli Junction Southern Railway zone Tiruchirappalli–Karaikkudi line Namanasamudram towards Karaikkudi Junction
Location
Pudukkottai railway station Location in Tamil Nadu

Pudukkottai railway station is a railway station located in Pudukkottai town, serving the people of Pudukkottai District in Tamil Nadu. It is the only major railway station in the district.

It falls under the operational limits of Madurai Railway Division of the Southern Railway Zone and it is a major as well as an important passing station present on the Tiruchirappalli- Karaikkudi railway line. It is under the station category B.

The station serves as an alternative rail route to the southern districts of Tamil Nadu. A new line from Thanjavur - Pudukkottai was proposed and the survey works were completed, which when fully materialises elevates Pudukkottai to junction station.

History

As early as 1886, a plan to link Pudukkottai by rail with Trichy and other places was mooted. But as the princely state of Pudukkottai was ruled by a king while most other parts of South India were under the British, protracted negotiations between these two authorities took place, specially with regard to the cost-bearing of the proposed railway line. Later, in 1921, a traffic-survey of the proposed Tiruchirapalli- Pudukkottai- Karaikudi- line was prepared by Rao Sahib S. Krishnamachari of South Indian Railways (SIR). It was estimated that the cost of construction of the railway line would work out to Rs 1.32 lakhs per mile. After a brief period of construction, the Trichy- Pudukkottai line was inaugurated on 17 April 1929 and Pudukkottai- Manamadurai line on 1 July 1930.

Location and layout

File:Pudukkottai Railway station.JPG

Pudukkottai railway station as seen from foot over bridge

The railway station is located about 2.1 kilometres (1.3 mi) from the new bus stand. It is not easily accessible as it is located far away from the main town. Very few buses are available to the railway station. It can be accessed through a cab or an auto.

Before the gauge conversion, the station had only 3 tracks. Now an additional fourth track has been constructed for handling goods trains. As it is a passing station, there are no pitlines available. There is also a considerable amount of space available for the extension of the railway station in future.

Services

All the trains bound to Karaikkudi, Manamadurai and few trains bound to Rameswaram and Kanyakumari from Chennai Egmore and Tiruchirappalli pass through this station. All the trains have a stoppage here for a minimum of 1–2 minutes.

Express trains

• 12605/12606 Chennai-Karaikudi (Pallavan Express) (Daily)
• 16701/16702 Chennai- Rameswaram (Boat Mail Express) (Daily)
• 16713/16714 Chennai- Rameswaram (Sethu Express) (Daily)
• 16181/16182 Chennai -Manamadurai (Silambu Express) (Bi-Weekly)
• 14259/14260 Rameswaram - Manduadih (Varanasi Express) (Weekly)
• 18495/18496 Rameswaram- Bhubaneswar (Bhubaneswar Express) (Weekly)
• 16861/16862 Puducherry -Kanyakumari Express (weekly)
• 16617/16618 Coimbatore - Rameswaram (Rameswaram Express) (weekly) via (Tiruchirappalli Jn)

Passenger trains

• 56829/56830 Trichy - Rameswaram Passenger
• 76807/76808 Manamadurai - Trichy DEMU
• 76839/76840 Trichy - Karaikkudi DEMU
• 76830/76831 Karaikkudi - Trichy DEMU
• 76805/76806 Manamadurai-Mannargudi DMU

New Line

Name of Project: Thanjavur-Pudukkottai via Gandarvakkottai (65 Km)