when was the name madras changed to chennai
Chennai After India gained its independence in 1947, the city became the capital of Madras State, which was renamed as Tamil Nadu in 1969.[67] The violent agitations of 1965 against the compulsory imposition of Hindi and in support of English in India in the state marked a major shift in the political dynamics of the city and eventually it had a big impact on the whole state. Because of Madras and its people, English now exists in India, otherwise Hindi might have been made the sole official language in India.[68] On 17 July 1996, the city known as Madras was officially renamed Chennai, in line with what was then a nationwide trend to using less Anglicised names.[69] On 26 December 2004, an Indian Ocean tsunami lashed the shores of Chennai, killing 206 people in Chennai and permanently altering the coastline.[70][71] The 2015 Chennai Floods submerged major portions of the city, killing 269 people and resulting in damages of ₹86.4 billion (US$1 billion).[72][73][74]
History of rail transport in India The first proposals for railways in India were made in Madras in 1832.[1] The first train in India ran from Red Hills to Chintadripet bridge in Madras in 1837, and was called Red Hill Railway. It was hauled by a rotary steam engine locomotive manufactured by William Avery. Built by Sir Arthur Cotton, it was primarily used for transporting granite stones for road building work in Madras.[1] In 1845, a railway was built at Dowleswaram in Rajahmundry called Godavari Dam Construction Railway. It was also built by Arthur Cotton and was used to supply stones for construction of a dam over Godavari.[1] On 8 May 1845, Madras Railway was incorporated. In the same year, the East India Railway company was incorporated. On 1 August 1849, Great Indian Peninsular Railway was incorporated by an Act of Parliament. The "Guarantee System", providing free land and guaranteed rates of return (5%) to the private English companies willing to work on building railways, was finalized on 17 August 1849. In 1851, a railway called Solani Aqueduct Railway was built in Roorkee. It was hauled by steam locomotive Thomason, named after a British officer-in-charge of the same name. It was used for transporting construction materials for the building of aqueduct over Solani river.[1] In 1852, the "Madras Guaranteed Railway Company" was incorporated.