Secunderabad Junction (codenamed SC) is a major railway junction in Hyderabad city. The junction falls under the purview of South Central Railway Zone of Indian Railways. This station was built during the British era in 1874 during the reign of the Nizam of Hyderabad and has a long 140-year history. Secunderabad Junction is under the control of Indian Railways from 1951. The station building is a true marksmanship of the Asaf Jahi Style of architecture with twin forts, and also, a popular attraction in Hyderabad. This junction is one of the busiest in Telangana district, handling more than 190 trains daily.
Secunderabad Junction is the zonal headquarters of the South Central Railway, and also, the divisional headquarters of the Secunderabad Division. Another landmark of this station is the ISO 9001 certification for high quality in ticket booking process, parcel and luggage booking & train management facilities. This coveted certificate is awarded to very few stations in the country and the Southern Central Railways have further plans to upgrade the infrastructure and do vertical expansion within the station. Secunderabad Junction is well-connected to all parts of the country and considered as major railway hub in South India. The junction is a host to ten platforms and electrification of the railway lines from Secunderabad was completed in 1993. This station is also interlinked with the local train network within the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
Secunderabad Railway station is one of the biggest and busiest stations in the Indian Railways. In order to handle the increased passenger traffic over the years, the Southern Central Railway Zone has developed two satellite stations. One is Hyderabad Deccan Station (9 KM), and other is Kacheguda Railway station (3 KM). There is also another proposal to build another world class railway station at Malkajgiri location to further support Secunderabad railway station. There are a host of facilities within the station like the escalators, information kiosks, elevators, variety of restaurants, prepaid parking, prepaid taxi services, and inter-city bus services from the station.
Secunderabad railway station is one of the modernized railway lines and handles close to 100,000 passengers on a daily basis. The large influx of passengers to the city also challenges the railway management to maintain the quality of services offered. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) guards the station with armed weapons and is also supported by Army soldiers to ensure the safety of the passengers. The security equipment includes CCTV surveillance, metal doors, hand held sensors, bomb detection squad, and other tools to monitor the railway station for any abnormal conditions.
The station is located at 36 Kilometres from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad. Secunderabad Railway station also is part of the local train network (Hyderabad Metro Rail Transport System) and provides an alternative to commute within Hyderabad and Secunderabad. The nearest railway stations to Secunderabad Junction are Kacheguda (3 KM), Begumpet Railway Station (6 KM), Hyderabad Deccan Railway Station (9 KM), and Falaknama Railway Station (10 KM).
- Kacheguda Railway Station:
The nearest satellite station to Secunderabad junction is the Kacheguda Railway station (codenamed KCG) and is located less than 3 Kilometres. Built in 1916, the station is an architectural marvel, and also, has many express trains originating from there to Chennai, Bangalore, Indore, and other major stations. The station is the headquarters of Hyderabad division of Southern Central Railway.
Begumpet Railway Station:
Begumpet is located in the central region of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. Codenamed BMT, this station provides an avenue for easy commutation to local passengers. Many express, super-fast trains stop at Begumpet railway station, and it is busiest local train station in Multi Modal Transit System of Hyderabad.
- Hyderabad Deccan Railway Station:
The central satellite station of Secunderabad is the Hyderabad Deccan railway station (codenamed HYB). This station is also called as Nampally Railway station and falls under the administrative control of the Secunderabad Division of the Southern Central Railway. The station hosts slew of super-fast and express trains connecting major cities in the country. Nampally station is equipped with best-in-class infrastructure on the lines of Secunderabad station and started its operations in 1874. The electrification of the railway line was completed in 2003.
- Falaknuma Railway Station:
This is one of the oldest railway stations built during the days of Nizam of Hyderabad. Falaknuma Railway station (codenamed FM) is a key station in the local train network, and the popular Falaknuma-Secunderabad (FS Line) originates from here.