RJPM Railway Station Information and Trains for RJPM

RAJAPALAYAM - RJPM

"Rajapalayam" is a city and a special grade municipality in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the largest municipality in the Virudhunagar district. It is located 600 km south to the state capital Chennai in the foothills of Western Ghats. Rajapalayam is located in the Madurai to Quilon Highway.economy is based on textile manufacture: the town has several mills for spinning and weaving cotton, as well as a large cotton market.

Rajapalayam is well known for its winter climate. The Rajapalayam dog is famous.

The name ''Rajapalayam'' derives from ''Raja'' and ''Palayam'', which in the Tamil language means a cantonment

fort. The town was previously called Raju Palayam, and finally Rajapalayam.

The town of Rajapalayam was later expanded by purchasing lands from Vijayarenga Chokkanatha Nayak (1706 -1732). Rajapalayam was constituted as a united board in the year 1885. It became a Panchayati raj (India) board in the year 1930. The railway reached Rajapalayam in the year 1927 and the town was electrified in 1937.

The mountains of the Western ghats are to the west of the city (12 km from the city), and the Sanjeevi hills are to the east. These moderate the climate, and several water catchment areas in the hills provide water for the city. Water is stored in the 6th mile water reservoir. There are several major lakes around the city, including Kondaneri, Karungulam, Pirandaikulam, and Sengulam. The soil in the area is classified by the government as Loam.

The climate of the region is of the Semi-arid climate Tropical monsoon climate type. The average temperature range is 20 °C to 37 °C.

The principal industry was initially agriculture. In 1936, Shri P. A. C. Ramasamy Raja started the first cotton spinning mill, called Rajapalayam Mills Ltd. Later, more textile mills were started including Sree Karpagambal Mills Ltd. Today, Rajapalayam is a major hub of the textile industry, famous for bandages, woven fabric, nighties, and other products. The neighboring town of Chatrapatti (Virudhunagar Dist) is a large player in producing surgical cotton gauze, and nearby Dhalavaipuram and Muhavoor produce women's nightwear.

According to the 2011 census of India, Rajapalayam had a population of 130,442 with 1,014 females for every 1,000 males, far above the national average of 929. A total of 11,604 individuals (5,927 males and 5,677 females) were under the age of six. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 13.51% and .09% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the city was 77.87%; the national average was 72.99%. According to the religious census of 2011, the population was 94.53% Hindus, 3.48% Muslims, 1.75% Christians, 0.02% Sikhs and 0.21% other.

As of 2016, Rajapalayam had a population of around 275,000.

The National Highway NH-744 from Tirumangalam, Madurai to Kollam passes through the city. State highway SH-41 (Rajapalayam-Sankarankovil-Tirunelveli) links the major parts of the extreme south of Tamil Nadu, including Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Kanyakumari. The road also offers good freight connectivity to Tamil Nadu's second largest seaport, Tuticorin Port Trust. State highway SH-186 (Rajapalayam-Vembakottai) connects the town to the east part of Virudhunagar district and passes through the fast-growing industrial towns of Chatrapatti and Alangulam, Tirunelveli.

Rajapalayam's long-distance bus station, located on Sankarankovil Road, is served by buses from the government of Tamil Nadu's TNSTC (Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation) and private transport companies. Buses run to Chennai, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Tamil Nadu, Mettupalayam, Coimbatore, Sathyamangalam, Oddanchatram, Pondicherry, and Sengottai. Several Private bus services runs to Chennai, Bangalore, Coimbatore from Rajapalayam. Rajapalayam old bus station is currently serving buses to nearby villages Seithur,Muhavoor, Dhalavaipuram and often called as Old bus stand

Town bus stand.

The Rajapalayam railway station is in the Southern Railways zone/Madurai division of Indian Railways and falls on the Virudhunagar to Kollam line. The station code is RJPM.

The Pothigai Express connects Rajapalayam to Chennai and runs daily. A bi-weekly express train, the "Silambu Express" runs to Chennai via Aruppukottai, Manamadurai, Karaikudi and on to Sengottai. Kollam Express runs between Chennai Egmore and Kollam Junction railway station daily via Trichy, Madurai, Rajapalayam, Tenkasi. Passenger trains also run to Madurai. There are two temporary services runs between Velankanni railway station & Ernakulam Junction railway station and between Chennai Egmore and Tirunelveli Junction railway station (via Tenkasi).

The nearest International airport is Madurai Airport (~80 km).

Ayyanar Kovil forest area is 10 km west of Rajapalayam on the eastern slope of the Western Ghats. The forest area has many streams, waterfalls, springs and a temple. Hiking in this forest area is one of the main recreations for Rajapalayam residents. Rajapalayam Water Reservoir, which provides water to the entire city, is situated en route to Ayyanar Falls. Rajapalayam Dam and Rajapalayam Water Treatment Plant are also situated adjacent to the Rajapalayam Water Reservoir.

Vallakattu Karuppasamy temple is situated en route to Ayyanar Kovil, in the middle of the forest next to the 6th Mile Dam that supplies water to Rajapalayam. Karuppu Sami is one of the 21 associate folk-deities of Ayyanar. This temple is one of the most famous in the area.

Sanjeevi Hills lies to the east of Rajapalayam. The Murugan Temple is at the top of the hill. Tradition recounts that Hanuman, the monkey god, carried the entire mountain of Sanjeevi, complete with its herbal plants, to Sri Lanka to save the unconscious Lakshmana. A small portion of the mountain fell off en route, and this portion is said to be the Sanjeevi Hills.