is the most busiest railway station in this division and accounts for 45% of the revenues. Coimbatore junction is classified under NSG-1 and it has 35,000 footfall per day. Erode, Salem, Karur and Podanur are the other important junctions, while Erode handles most of the crew change in the route. Tiruppur is an important station in Salem division which handles significant volume of Agricultural commodities, Textile products and Machinery which contributes an abundant profit in the freight segment.
Routes
Salem division has its jurisdiction entirely in the state of Tamil Nadu. It covers 15 districts in Tamil Nadu and has a total route length of, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Karur and Namakkal being the important district Headquarters. Salem division jurisdiction are as follows
There is a Diesel as well as an Electric Loco shed in Erode. Both the loco sheds provides locomotives to Southern Railways and South Western Railways. One Meter Gauge loco shed is situated at Coonoor to facilitate Nilgiri Mountain Railway.
Diesel Locomotive Shed, Erode has been assessed as the best Diesel Loco shed in Southern Railway Zone during the tenure of 2005–2006 and 2009–2010. The shed has been internationally certified with for Quality Management System in March 2004 and ISO 14001:2004 for Environmental Management Systemin September 2004 for its standards. A diesel loco belonging to shed was awarded "Black Beauty Queen", during the inaugural annual best loco competition among Southern Railway zone outmatching other sheds viz., Tondiarpet, Ernakulam and Golden Rock, as about 15 parameters were considered for the selection. It has one of the largest fleet of WDM-3D, WDG-3A and WDM-3A. Around 2014, Erode Diesel shed started to receive the High horse power EMD locomotives apart from the conventional Alco locomotives. WDG-4 was initial HHP loco allotted and WDP4D variants were allocated later on. Around 2019, it started to home the WAG variant electric locos which are for freight operations and in 2020, it got WAP-1 locomotive transferred from Electric Loco Shed, Arakkonam. Apart from the Mainline service locomotives, plenty of shunting locomotives are maintained as well.
Electric Locomotive Shed, Erode is one of the premier sheds in Indian Railways, it was having the largest fleet of WAP-4 till 2017, eventually few were transferred to Electric Loco Shed, Arakkonam. On October 2017, Erode received first two 3-phase AC locos of the class WAP-7 from Electric Loco Shed, Royapuram. On July 2020, Erode was allocated with four WAG-9 locomotives, making it the first shed in Southern Railway zone to home WAG-9 lococmotive.
The Meter gauge loco shed at Coonoor is the place where the steam and diesel locomotives for Nilgiri Mountain Railway are serviced, maintained and fueled for their trips. Coal-fired or Oil-fired steam engines are homed here along with YDM-4 class.
Pit lines
The pit lines for maintenance of passenger coaches are at Coimbatore, Erode, Mettupalayam and Coonoor.
Coimbatore has 2 pit lines, both can handle 24 coach trains.
Erode has 2 pit lines, one can handle 17 coaches and other can handle 10 coaches.
Mettupalayam has 3 pit lines. 2 Broad Gauge pit line and 1 Meter gauge. The lone Meter gauge Pit line is capable of handling 4 coaches. Among the 2 Broad Gauge pit line, one can handle 7 coaches and other pit line has the capacity of 6 coaches.
Coonoor has 1 Meter gauge pit line which can handle 4 coaches.
Trains Handled
Salem division handles lots of trains. Coimbatore coaching complex is the most important in Salem division and it's congested due to the huge volume of trains.
The famous Nilgiri Mountain Railway heritage line is under Salem division. The scenic line starts from Mettupalayam and ends at Ooty. The section from Mettupalayam to Coonoor is hauled by a Steam locomotive. A YDM-4 Diesel engine is attached at Coonoor for the further journey till Ooty. Between Mettupalayam and Coonoor, the line uses the Abt rack and pinion system to climb the steep gradient. The NMR is the only rack railway in India. The average gradient in this rack section is 1 in 24.5, with a maximum of 1 in 12. Even though the NMR supplies networked computerized ticketing systems for onward journeys, it still issues Edmondson style manual tickets for the Udhagamandalam-Mettupalayam journey to preserve its 'World Heritage Site' status. Ticket booking is similar to conventional trains and can be done via the Indian Railway website. It is advisable to book tickets well in advance, especially during peak season.
Salem division has most its entire Broad Gauge line electrified, after completion of Salem Vriddhachalam Electrification, it will be the first division in Southern Railways to have its entire jurisdiction with electric traction.
Chemmozhi express in Coimbatore coach care in completely maintained by women.
