A nostalgic love letter to Egmore and its station

Egmore station, a hidden gem overshadowed by Chennai Central, holds nostalgic memories of old Madras days.

In old Tamil films, the shot to establish Madras as a location would often be centred around the Chennai Central station or the LIC building. Seemingly lost in the large shadows cast by these two historical edifices was the Egmore station. The gateway to southern Tamil Nadu, Egmore, a name associated with the locality it is present in, had its charms. The red-stone historic facade with the gentle dome style roofing, unlike the towers that highlighted Central, seemed unique.

Egmore was like the friendly neighbourhood lad, while Central was the grand dame. But Egmore was and is special. Back then, it had the metre-gauge line, be it long-distance or suburban. The last metre-gauge electric train chugged out of this station in 2004 and after 21 years, there still remains a yearning for those old Madras days.

For readers of a certain vintage, the station could well be a memory-milestone for trips done to Kodaikanal by the Pandian Express. Then a metre-gauge train heading to Madurai with a stop at Kodai Road at dawn, helping honeymooning couples and boisterous college groups find their way up the hills, the Pandian Express had hope and history surging through its coaches.

As the compartments had a limited width due to the gauge constraints, the side-lower and upper berths were non-existent. Instead, there was this passage and it was common to see naughty college lads forming their own trains, holding each other’s shirt tails and running through these gaps before the ticket examiner and senior citizens told the boys to pipe down.

Egmore then also had one exclusive platform into which cars were allowed. Striding out of a car and getting into a compartment was the height of style. Currently, this facility does not exist as more platforms have been added.

For cinephiles, there is this remembrance of the Raja Rajadhi Raja indha Raja song canned at the station. The Agni Natchathiram number tuned by Ilaiyaraaja featured Karthik dancing down the stairs, and a young Prabhu Deva was also seen in the background.

Meanwhile, in the suburban electric trains, where commuters and college-goers jostled for space, there was banter and laughter in abundance, especially in the mornings. Students heading to Loyola, Pachaiyappas, or Madras Christian College, to name a few, had their own lingo.