Renigunta, the main railway junction nestling on the busy Chennai-Mumbai railway line and considered the gateway to the temple city of Tirupati, marked its 164th anniversary on Thursday (August 27, 2026).

The line was first established by the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway (MSM), a railway company headquartered in Royapuram (now in North Chennai), in the year 1862 towards Vyasarpadi. Simultaneously, parallel work was undertaken at Tiruvallur, Arakkonam, and Renigunta.

The Renigunta–Reddipalli (near Rajampeta) line served crucial in lifting charcoal meant for export, besides the locally grown onions. Apart from Chennai and Mumbai routes, Renigunta is a four-pronged junction today, where the line cleaves towards Gudur as well as towards Tirupati.

While the Guntakal Divisional Railway Manager Chandrasekhar Gupta and Senior Divisional Commercial Manager K. Satyanarayana and other officials were accorded a ceremonial welcome by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel, the celebrations were marked by releasing of balloons by the jubilant crowd comprising railway employees, workmen, and pensioners.

After the national song Vande Mataram was sung in full, a special exhibition displaying old and new photographs depicting the 164-year history and development of the Railways in general, and Renigunta station in particular, was opened.

“A steam loco shed was established in the year 1892 in Renigunta, which reduced dependence of Chennai, where all the facilities were earlier centralised,” said Mr. Jayanth Kumar, Secretary of Renigunta Railway Pensioners Welfare Federation Secretary.

He acknowledged the efforts taken by the Guntakal divisional officials in organising the historic event in a grand manner. He pointed to the importance of Renigunta as a crucial junction in the high-density traffic route and its role in development of the Railways.