Tamil Nadu Timeline

InfrastructureNational and Dravidian movements

First electric suburban trains in Madras

· Tambaram

First electric suburban trains in Madras
Raybellrich, CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

The first electric suburban rail service in Madras began between Madras Beach and Tambaram.

Plans to electrify railway lines in Madras were first initiated in 1923 by Sir Percy Rothera of the South Indian Railway. In early 1930 the government decided to electrify the metre gauge lines linking the harbour with the southern suburb of Tambaram. Construction was completed by March 1931. The first electrically operated rail service in Madras ran on 2 April 1931 between Madras Beach and Tambaram, the start of the Chennai Suburban Railway.

Related events

  1. 1928

    1. 1928PonmalaiInfrastructure

      Golden Rock railway workshop opens at Tiruchirappalli

      The South Indian Railway moved its central workshop from Nagapattinam to Golden Rock in Tiruchirappalli.

  2. 1932

    1. Oct 1932PykaraInfrastructure

      Pykara hydroelectric power station commissioned

      The Pykara hydroelectric scheme in the Nilgiris began generating power, the first major hydroelectric project in the Madras Presidency.

    2. 24 Oct 1932 to 8 Jan 1933PeramburProtest

      Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway strike

      Railway workshop workers at Perambur began a strike against retrenchment that spread across the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway.

  3. 1937

    1. 30 Jan 1937TambaramEducation

      Madras Christian College moves to Tambaram

      After a century in the city centre, Madras Christian College moved to a large new campus at Tambaram.

  4. 1938

    1. Dec 1938TambaramReligion

      Tambaram World Missionary Conference

      Madras Christian College at Tambaram hosted the International Missionary Council's world conference, a landmark in the ecumenical movement.

  5. 1984

    1. 1984TambaramEconomy

      Madras Export Processing Zone set up at Tambaram

      The Union government set up the Madras Export Processing Zone on GST Road at Tambaram to attract foreign investment and boost exports.

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