Egmore station’s main building was completed in 1908 for the South Indian Railway, to designs by Henry Irwin, and it cost about Rs 17 lakh. It is one of three Chennai stations on the Railway Board’s heritage list, and right now it is in the middle of a reconstruction worth over Rs 700 crore that is due to finish in 2027. If you take a southbound train in the next year, you will see scaffolding, new foot overbridges and the old domes side by side.
Here is how the station came to be, what makes its architecture unusual, and what the current works mean for the heritage block and for passengers.
From a fortified choultry to a railway terminus
The land has a long history before the railway. Heritage writer Sriram V traces it back to a choultry, or rest house, that the East India Company turned into a fortified redoubt in the early 18th century. Later the site held orphan asylums moved from Fort St George and a Government Press.
The South Indian Railway was formed in 1874 and ran most of its network, much of it metre gauge, from Tiruchi. A modest station already stood at Egmore by the 1880s. In the early 1900s the company decided its Madras end needed a proper terminus. In 1904 it acquired a 1.83 acre property for Rs 1 lakh from Senjee Pulnee Andy, a doctor who owned part of the land, after pressure from the Collector of Madras, Sriram records.
Irwin, Bird and a Bangalore contractor
The CMDA’s heritage paper dates the building to 1908 and credits Henry Irwin, the architect of the High Court and Connemara Library. Other accounts add E.C. Bird as co-designer. The builder was T. Samynada Pillai of Bangalore, who also built the railway’s stations at Madurai and Tiruchi.
The CMDA paper places Egmore in the Indo-Saracenic style but notes that it leans more on Dravidian elements than most buildings of that school. Look for these features:
- Size: the main block was about 300 feet by 70 feet, which Sriram says was bigger than Charing Cross in London.
- Concrete: it was among the early uses of concrete in Madras.
- The elephant crest over the entrance porch. DT Next notes that after nationalisation the letters SIR on it were changed to SR, but the elephant stayed.
- Domes and arches in a long line along Gandhi Irwin Road, with later domes from 1930 that critics called squat.
Extensions, a merger and a long working life
The station was extended in 1930 and again in 1980. Sriram notes that the 1930 domes drew criticism, while the 1980 addition fits the original better. A drive-in platform and a stained glass and timber refreshment room once run by Spencer’s have disappeared or been covered over.
In 1951 the South Indian Railway was merged with other systems to form Southern Railway. Egmore became the gateway for trains to the southern districts, a role it still plays alongside Tambaram. The Railway Board’s August 2025 heritage list names the Madras Egmore station building alongside Chennai Central and Royapuram.
The reconstruction under way
| Item | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Contract awarded | October 2022 | DT Next, Feb 2024 |
| Reconstruction estimate | Rs 734.91 crore | DT Next, Feb 2024 |
| Contractor | DEC Infrastructure and Projects, Hyderabad | DT Next, Feb 2024 |
| Project management | Tata Consulting Engineers, Rs 14.56 crore | DT Next, Feb 2024 |
| Built-up area planned | About 1,35,406 sq m | Citizen Matters, 2023 |
| Expected completion | 2027 | DT Next, Sept 2026 |
The plan adds new station buildings of ground plus three floors on both the Gandhi Irwin Road and Poonamallee High Road sides, separate arrival and departure concourses and multi-level parking, Citizen Matters reported. The railway’s stated aim is to keep the heritage value of the existing structure, with much of the old building repurposed. Heritage watchers have raised one concern: the original block is not part of the planned pick-up and drop-off areas, so it could end up sidelined.
Recent reports put the overall figure at about Rs 840 crore. In July 2026, DT Next reported that select express trains to the southern districts would start from Tambaram from August while a new 120 metre steel foot overbridge went up; suburban services were moved to other platforms.
Tips for passengers and photographers
- Check your ticket and the NTES or IRCTC app for the starting station of southbound trains while the works continue.
- The best view of the old facade is from Gandhi Irwin Road in the morning. Construction barricades may block some angles.
- Egmore metro station is close by and is the easiest way to reach the station without parking hassles.
Quick answers
When was Egmore railway station built?
The main building was completed in 1908 for the South Indian Railway.
Who designed Egmore station?
Henry Irwin, with E.C. Bird; T. Samynada Pillai was the contractor.
Will the heritage building be demolished?
No. Railway notices say the heritage value of the existing structure will be retained, with much of it repurposed.
When will Egmore’s redevelopment finish?
It is expected in 2027, according to a September 2026 report.
Information checked against official sources on 18 October 2026. Fees, dates and rules can change; confirm on the linked official pages before acting.
Sources
- History of historical buildings and monuments in and around Chennai (CMDA)
- Heritage Stations and Buildings, August 2025 (Railway Board, Ministry of Railways)
- Chennai landmark: the Egmore station (Sriram V)
- The antiquity of Egmore (DT Next)
- Merging old and new: what the redevelopment of Egmore station promises (Citizen Matters, 2023)
- Redevelopment works at Egmore railway station on track: SR (DT Next, Feb 2024)
- Chennai Egmore railway station revamp: select express trains to operate from Tambaram (DT Next, July 2026)
