Renaming Station Names

A large number of stations have been renamed in the last half-century or so. Here, we look at changes which have occurred since the 1930s. We concentrate on the changes in southern and western India, as they have seen more changes compared to the rest of the country.

Reasons for Change

In general, changes are made based on the requests from the state government. The Railways generally do not make changes on their own. Changes in names generally reflect the pronunciation in the local language which was not in the earlier spellings during British rule. Interestingly, there are some cases where the official name of the town has changed but the station name has not.
Andhra Pradesh
Old Name New Name
Bezwada Vijayawada
Chicacole Road Srikakulam Road
Cocanada Kakinada
Dronachellam Dhone*
Gundrati Margoo Gundratimadugu
Hyderabad MG Kacheguda
Khammamett Khammam
Kothapetta Sirpur Kagaznagar
Masulipatnam Machilipatnam
Oopal Uppal
Waltair Visakhapatnam

* Reverting to its old name


Goa
Old Name New Name
Collem Kulem
Margao Madgaon
Sanvordem Curchorem Kudchade (Sanvordem)*

* Station signboard changed, but timetable still shows the old name.


Gujarat
Old Name New Name
Baroda Vadodara
Broach Bharuch
Bulsar Valsad
Cambay Khambhat
Goya Gate Vishvamitri
Mohamedabad & Kaira Road Mehemadabad & Kheda Road

Karnataka
Old Name New Name
Bowringpet Bangarapet
Closepet Ramanagaram
French Rocks Yeliyur
Telgi Basavana Bagewadi Road

Kerala
Old Name New Name
Ernakulam North* Ernakulam Town
Ernakulam South* Ernakulam Jn
Olavakkot Palghat
Vettikatiri Vallathol Nagar

* No change in name of place, only the suffix for the station has changed.

Kerala - Stations Unchanged
(Towns that have changed names but where the station names have remained unchanged.)
Old Name New Name
Alleppey Alappuzha
Alwaye Aluva
Badagara Vadakara
Calicut Kozhikode
Cannanore Kannur
Cochin Kochi
Quilon Kollam
Shertallai Cherthala
Tellicherry Thalasseri
Trichur Thrisshur
Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram

Maharashtra
Old Name New Name
Bassein Road Vasai Road
Bellasis Road Mumbai Central(local)
Bombay Mumbai
Bombay VT Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai
Dhond Daund
Dhulia Dhule
Ellichpur Achalpur
Erandol Road Dondaiche?
Kirkee Khadki
Kolhapur Chhatrapati Sahu Maharaj Terminus
Kolivada Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar
Paunar Seloo Road
Poona Pune
Wardha East Sevagram*
Sevagram* Varud
Sholapur Solapur
Shrirampur Belapur

* An interesting case of a double name change!

Maharashtra - Stations Unchanged
(Towns that have changed names but where the station names have remained unchanged.)
Old Name New Name
Aurangabad Shambhajinagar

Also see Ajai Banerji's article on station renaming.
Tamil Nadu
Old Name New Name
Arkonam Arakkonam
Chingleput Chengalpattu
Coleroon Kollidam
Conjeevaram Kanchipuram
Cuddalore New Town Tiruppadiripuliyur*
Dalmiapuram Kallakudi Palanganatham
Jalarpet Jolarpettai
Madras Chennai
Madras Chetpat Chetpet
Madras Park Park
Madura Madurai
Maniyachi Vanchi Maniyachchi**
Manur Manavur
Mayavaram Mayiladuturai***
McDonald's Choultry Magudan Chavadi
Ootacamund Udhagamandalam
Point Calimere Kodikkarai
Porto Novo Parangipettai
Ramnad Ramanathapuram
Shencottah Sengottai
Tanjore Thanjavur
Tinnevelly Tirunelveli
Tranquebar Tarangambadi
Trichnopoly Tiruchchirapalli
Trivellore Tiruvallur

* In between, Tiruppapuliyur.

** Named for a freedom fighter.

*** In between, Mayuram.

Tamil Nadu - Stations Unchanged
(Towns that have changed names but where the station names have remained unchanged.)
Old Name New Name
Tuticorin Thootakudi