Over 164 Years, Renigunta Turns Today From Tin-Shed Railway Station to Major Junction
Renigunta has remained an important transit point for passengers travelling to the temple city and Tirumala
TIRUPATI: Renigunta Railway Station completes 164 years on Thursday, August 27, marking another milestone in its history of being one of the region's long-standing railway establishments. Since its inception in 1862, the station has seen many changes in railway operations, infrastructure and technology, growing into the present-day junction serving the Tirupati region.
Renigunta had been part of the British railway network in southern India. They opened the Royapuram Railway Station in Madras in 1856 and laid railway lines into the interiors through Arakkonam and Puttur, opening the Renigunta station on August 27, 1862.
In its early years, Renigunta had been a small railway station operating from a tin-roofed shed with 10 employees. From that modest beginning, it gradually expanded, benefitting the town’s growth.
As per the historical timeline, the railway line reached Renigunta on September 15, 1862. The Renigunta-Reddipalli section opened for traffic on October 1, 1864. The railway line further extended towards Cuddapah (Kadapa) in 1865.
The growth of railway operations continued at Renigunta in the following decades. It got a Steam Locomotive Shed on July 19, 1892, becoming an important part of the railway establishment in the area. Over time, Renigunta developed as a junction and railway centre with operational facilities. Residential colonies for railway employees came up around the station, making the railway establishment an important part of the town.
Renigunta railway’s landscape has changed considerably over the years. The earlier yard had goods lines, metre-gauge tracks, and platform lines. The metre-gauge section has subsequently gone as the railway network developed to broad gauge. Goods Cabin-1, Goods Cabin-2, and the CRS Cabin, which had been part of the earlier operations, have been removed as part of modernisation.
Railway operations too have changed over the years. The early system of manually setting railway points has been replaced by interlocking systems, followed by improvements in signalling. Automatic signalling has subsequently been introduced on the Renigunta-Arakkonam section. The Mamanduru-Yerpedu bypass line has reduced train detention.
Apart from passenger services, Renigunta has catered to goods movement, whose infrastructure include a goods yard, goods shed, and milk siding, besides a coaching yard and OHE Tower Car Shed. A Milk Duronto between Renigunta and New Delhi is associated with the station's long-distance railway operations.
Today, Renigunta Junction has five platforms, with lifts and foot overbridges for passengers. The station has booking and reservation offices, waiting halls, retiring rooms, and refreshment facilities.
Located close to Tirupati, Renigunta has remained an important transit point for passengers travelling to the temple city and Tirumala. The junction connects routes towards Chennai, Mumbai, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Puri, Kolkata, New Delhi, and Guntakal, among others.
