The Great Southern of India Railway Company was established with its headquarters in
England in 1853. The Carnatic Railway Company was founded in 1869. The two companies merged in 1874 to form the South Indian Railway Company. The new firm was registered in
London in 1890 with
Trichinopoly as its headquarters. In 1891, the Pondicherry Railway Company (incorporated in 1845 The company operated a suburban electric train service from May 1931 onwards. The South Indian Railway Company was nationalized in 1944. On 1 April 1951, the South Indian Railway Company, the
Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway Company and the
Mysore Railway Company were merged to form the
Southern Railway zone of the
Indian Railways. == Rolling stock ==