Railway Stations at Secunderabad

Secunderabad, the twin-city of Hyderabad, is in Telangana. It began as a British cantonment in 1806 and grew under the British influence. The Hussain Sagar is the dividing line between Secunderabad and Hyderabad. There are many army and air force establishments in Secunderabad.

Secunderabad Railway Station of the South Central Railway (SCR) is a big commuter rail hub in the twin-city urban area. It was built in 1874 and was the main station of the Nizam’s Railway until the Kachiguda Railway Station came into operation in 1916. The railways took over the operation in 1951. The station edifice looks like a fort and shows the influenced of Asaf Jahi architecture.

The Busy Junction:

Secunderabad has good connectivity by the rail network with all parts of the country. It is a busy station with as many as 190 trains passing through it every day. The station is used by over one lakh passengers.  Located on the Nanded-Guntakal and Vijayawada-Wadi railway lines, Secunderabad is also the SCR headquarters. Secunderabad has obtained the ISO-9001 certification for excellence in ticket, parcel and luggage booking and management of platforms. There is a proposal to expand it and develop it into a world-class station.

The Nizam’s Railways was set up in 1870 to connect the state with the rest of the country. The construction of Secunderabad station Secunderabad-Wadi line began the same year. The Nizam financed the project and the work was completed in 1874. The Nizam’s Guaranteed State Railway, set up in 1879, took over the control. Secunderabad was linked with Singareni coal mines by a 235-km line, and, in 1889, the Secunderabad-Wadi line was extended to Vijayawada Junction.  The next year saw the opening of the Vijayawada Junction-Chennai Central broad gauge connection. Direct travel from Hyderabad to Chennai thus became possible. The Hyderabad-Godavari Valley Railway Company opened the Manmad-Secunderabad meter gauge line in 1900. The company was absorbed by Nizam’s State Railways in 1930. Kachiguda Railway Station was built as the headquarters and terminus of Nizam’s Guaranteed State Railway In 1916. Nizam’s State Railway tried the diesel rail cars by Ganz in 1939.

Nationalization of Nizam Railways:

Nizam’s Guaranteed State Railway was nationalized in 1951. Secunderabad station was included in Central Railway with Mumbai as its headquarters. The South Central Railway was formed in 1966 with Secunderabad as its headquarters. Rail Nilayam, the zonal headquarters of SCR, was built in 1972. The Secunderabad divisional headquarters came up in 1980.

The Indian Railway Institute of Signal Engineering and Telecommunications, a training institute, was set up in Secunderabad in 1957. The Kachiguda-Manmad (via Secunderabad) Ajanta Express was introduced in 1967 and the Secunderabad-Vijayawada Junction Golconda Express was introduced in 1969. It was the fastest steam-hauled train in the country at the time and was run up to Guntur later.  The Secunderabad-Mahbubnagar meter gauge section was upgraded to broad gauge in 1993. Secunderabad-Kazipet-Vijayawada Junction stretch was electrified the same year.

Superfast Trains:

The Secunderabad-Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express was launched in 2002. Two other Rajdhani trains, both from Bangalore City Railway Station, halt at the station. The Secunderabad-Vishakhapatnam Garib Rath Express operates daily and Secunderabad-Yeswanthpur (Bangalore) Garib Rath also halts at Secunderabad.

Secunderabad Station has 11 platforms and all can receive 24-coach trains and all the tracks are broad gauge tracks. The station has lines leading to 5 directions: to Kachiguda-Kurnool-Guntakal-Bangalore, to Malkajgiri-Bolaram-Nizambad-Nanded-Parbhani, to Vikarabad-Wadi, and to Bibinagar-Kazipet-Dornakal.

Secunderabad Station is also a center for suburban trains. These DHMU’s run on the non-electrified rail lines in the suburbs and on the electrified lines.

Many Facilities at Secunderabad Station:

Computerised reservation system was introduced at Secunderabad as early as 1989. The system was linked to New Delhi, Howrah, Mumbai and Chennai between 1997 and 1999. The passenger facilities at Secunderabad Railway Station include waiting halls, lodging, restaurants, coffee shop, cafes, book stalls, cloakrooms, cyber café, tourism agent counters, train status announcements, train inquiry counters, train status display boards and foot bridges. It also has stringent security and parking, including automated parking. The station has 45 cameras at different locations monitoring the situation. There is a pharmacy on Platform 1. It now has escalator on every platform. The station has air-conditioned and general waiting halls on platform No.1 and a dormitory on the first floor.

Water Recycling Plant:

The Secunderabad Railway Station has Rs 1.2 crore water recycling plant. Over 30,000 litres of water is required daily to wash 800 coaches and platforms. The used water is given biological and chemical treatment. It is good enough again for cleaning the coaches and platforms.

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