Chennai Central station boards changed to include MGR name

Days after the government order was passed changing the name of the iconic Chennai Central railway station to include that of later chief minister M G Ramachandran, the boards in the station were quietly changed today.

The ubiquitous white and blue boards of Central station now read Dr M G Ramachandran Chennai Central.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was in the State last month, had promised to change the name of the station in memory of former chief minister and AIADMK founder M G Ramachandran.

In September 2018, the Tamilnadu Cabinet had passed a resolution to urge the Central government to change the name of Central station to Dr Puratchi Thalivar M G Ramachandran Central railway station. This resolution was sent to Modi 12 September.

Central Chennai MP S R Vijayakumar also raised the issue in Parliament and sought to change the name of the station that was built during the British era.

During the public rally at Vandalur in March, Modi announced that the name of Central station would be changed to include MGR’s name. Following this, the gazette notification was issued by Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan.