Electric Loco Shed, Arakkonam

2022-12-06T06:55:51Z

2409:4043:2080:F43E:2804:17A2:950:7110: /* Livery and markings */

{{Short description|Loco shed in Tamilnadu, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox railway depot
| name = Electric Loco Shed, Arakkonam
| image = AJJ WAG5.jpg
| image_upright = 2
| image_width =
| image_alt = The shed is located near Arakkonam railway station.
| caption = AJJ based WAG-5 converted to a dual mode shunting loco.
| location = [[Arakkonam]], [[Tamil Nadu]]
| coordinates = {{coord|13.08191|79.66845|display=inline,title}}
| owner = [[Indian Railways]]
| operator = [[Southern Railway zone]]
| depotcode = AJJ
| type = [[Motive power depot|Engine shed]]
| opened = {{Start date and age|1980|||df=y}}
| closed = 
| original =
| pregrouping =
| postgrouping =
| roads = 6
| rollingstock = [[Indian locomotive class WAP-4|WAP-4]] <br> [[Indian locomotive class WAG-5|WAG-5]] <br> [[Indian locomotive class WAG-9|WAG-9]]
| former_rolling_stock = [[Indian locomotive class WAP-1|WAP-1]] <br> [[Indian locomotive class WAG-7|WAG-7]]
| routes = 
| map_type = India Tamil Nadu
| map_size = 250
| embed =
}}

'''Electric Loco Shed, Arakkonam''' is a [[motive power depot]] performing locomotive maintenance and repair facility for electric locomotives of the [[Indian Railways]], located at [[Arakkonam|Arrakkonam]] on the Guntakal–Chennai Egmore section of the [[Southern Railway zone]] in [[Tamil Nadu]], India. It is one of the three electric locomotive sheds of the Southern Railway, the others being at [[Electric Loco Shed, Erode|Erode]] (ED) and [[Electric Loco Shed, Royapuram|Royapuram]] (RPM) and is the oldest in south India.
[[File:AJJ ELS Logo.jpg|thumb|centre|150px|Logo of '''Electric Loco Shed, Arakkonam''']]
[[File:Route_haul_map_of_Arakkonam_Electric_Loco_shed.png|thumb|402x402px|Route haul map of Arakkonam Electric Loco shed]]

== History ==
Steam locomotive sheds used to exist at Arrokonam (AJJ) until the late 1970s.<ref>{{Cite web|title=[IRFCA] Indian Railways FAQ: Steam Locomotive Sheds in the 1970s|url=http://www.irfca.org/faq/faq-shed2.html#bgsr|publisher=IRFCA|access-date=2016-12-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=scan0189.jpg|url=https://www.irfca.org/gallery/Steam/collingwood/scan0189.jpg.html|publisher=IRFCA|access-date=2020-05-20}}</ref> After Southern Railway set a deadline to eliminate all steam locomotive operations by 1990, a push was given towards establishing electric locomotion as the primary motive power, and the Steam locomotive shed was decommissioned.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Report of the expert Committee on Coal Consumption on Railways, 1958|url=http://www.indianculture.gov.in/report-expert-committee-coal-consumption-railways-1958|website=INDIAN CULTURE|access-date=2020-04-29}}</ref> To meet the needs of exponentially increasing rail traffic on the new continuous broad-gauge lines from Chennai to Kanyakumari and Palakkad with the completion of gauge conversion, the steam shed site was selected by Indian railways for a new electric locomotive shed.<ref>{{cite web|title=Electric loco shed location|url=http://indiarailinfo.com/station/map/erode-junction-ed/39|access-date=2016-11-23}}</ref>

New Electric locomotive shed was inaugurated in the 1980s with [[Indian locomotive class WAM-4|WAM-4]] class. This shed then got 5 [[Indian locomotive class WAP-1|WAP-1]] from Ghaziabad which stayed until 2002, then they were transferred back to Ghaziabad again. It later got the entire Southern Railway (SR) fleet of [[Indian locomotive class WAP-4|WAP-4]] locos. Later these were then moved to [[Electric Loco Shed, Erode|Erode]] and Lallaguda. New [[Indian locomotive class WAG-7|WAG-7]] locos were acquired but later transferred to Erode. In 2009 30 WAP-1 locos transferred back from Ghaziabad out of which all but 5 were sent to Royapuram in 2011.

All the WAM-4s of this shed have been retired/withdrawn from service.

== Operations ==
Being one of the three electric engine sheds in Southern Railway, various major and minor maintenance schedules of electric locomotives are carried out here. It has the sanctioned capacity of 150 engine units. This shed houses a total of 184 engine units, including 90 [[Indian locomotive class WAP-4|WAP-4]], 91 [[Indian locomotive class WAG-5|WAG-5]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Indian Railway-shed wise engine.holdings|url=http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/uploads/directorate/ele_engg/downloads/Shed_type_wise_holding_011015.pdf
|page=1|access-date=2016-11-23}}</ref> and 3 WAG-9 Electric loco Shed, Erode is now housing the 2nd largest fleet of [[Indian locomotive class WAP-4|WAP-4]] in Indian Railways and it caters to many long-distance electric trains.<ref>{{cite news|title=fleets under sheds|url=http://www.irfca.org/faq/faq-shed.html#sr|access-date=2016-11-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=List of Locos in Erode|url=http://www.irfca.org/apps/locos/list?authenticity_token=ReK61Xl7XaF1VJapJ63USw3GU20HKtdaWEzVPl%2Bwz28%3D&page=6&shed_id=15|access-date=2016-11-23}}</ref>

Like all locomotive sheds, AJJ does regular maintenance, overhaul and repair including painting and washing of locomotives. It not only attends to locomotives housed at AJJ but to ones coming in from other sheds as well. It has four pit lines for loco repair. Locomotives of Arakkonam ELS along with Erode and Royapuram ELS were the regular links for all trains running through Kerala and Tamil Nadu when widespread electrification of railway lines started in Southern Railways. It handled prestigious trains like the [[Kerala Express]], and the [[Tamil Nadu Express]]. AJJ locomotives used to be predominantly the regular links for trains traveling to north as well.

== Livery and markings ==
AJJ based locos can be identified by sticker marks of AJJ ELS. AJJ WAP-4 can also be identified by thunderbolts sign in front and back of the loco. AJJ based WAP-4 has many different types of liveries. Some liveries are given below.

[[File:AJJ WAP 4.jpg|thumb|AJJ WAP-4 in standard red livery.]]
[[File:AJJ WAP-4 SHATABDI.png|thumb|AJJ based WAP-4 in ICF Shatabdi livery.]]
[[File:AJJ WAP-4 RAJDHANI.png|thumb|AJJ based WAP-4 in the ICF Rajdhani livery.]]
[[File:AJJ WAP-4 SAPTHAGIRI.png|thumb|AJJ based WAP-4 in the old Sapthagiri livery.]]

AJJ based WAG-9 and WAG-5 have standard livery all over India

== Locomotives ==
{| class="wikitable"
!SN
!Locomotive
!HP
!Quantity
!Images
|-
|1.
|WAP-4
|5350
|98
|[[File:AJJ WAP4.jpg|frameless]]
|-
|2.
|WAG-5HA
|4300
|65
|[[File:WAG-5HA AJJ.jpg|frameless]]
|-
|3.
|WAG-9H
|6122
|20
|[[File:WAG-9 AJJ.jpg|frameless]]
|-
| colspan="3" |'''Total Locomotives active as of 01-05-2022'''<ref>{{Cite web|title=e-Locos|url=http://elocos.railnet.gov.in/Holding/holding.html}}</ref>||183
|}

== See also ==
*[[Electric Loco Shed, Erode]]
*[[Electric Loco Shed, Royapuram]]
*[[Diesel Loco Shed, Ernakulam]]
*[[Diesel Loco Shed, Erode]]
*[[Diesel Loco Shed, Golden Rock]]
*[[Diesel Loco Shed, Tondiarpet]]

== References ==

{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons category}}
* [http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/view_section.jsp?lang=0&id=0,1,304,366,549,687,709|Official Website]
* [http://www.irfca.org/faq/faq-shed.html#sr|Loco Particulars]
* [http://indiarailinfo.com/station/map/erode-electric-loco-shed-ed-els/11635|Shed location]{{Dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* [https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1roX7g62tnMMg55hY1MrsHO9jZWA&hl=en_US&ll=11.4184021004248%2C78.02839185468747&z=7|Google maps of Indian Railway Loco Sheds]
* [http://indiarailinfo.com/station/map/erode-junction-ed/39/atlas|Erode Loco sheds on line atlas]{{Dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* [https://vimeo.com/185662473|Video showing the Erode Electric Loco Shed]

{{Locomotives Sheds of India}}

[[Category:Electric railway depots in India|Arakkonam]]
[[Category:Salem railway division]]
[[Category:Transport in Erode]]
[[Category:1980 establishments in Tamil Nadu]]

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Electric Loco Shed, Arakkonam