Arakkonam

Arakkonam (aɾakkoːɳam) is a railway town and suburb of Chennai within Chennai Metropolitan Area limit, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, with a population of 78,395 per the census 2011. It is in the newly created Ranipet district, about from Ranipet headquarters and about from the state capital of Chennai. In October 2022 Arakkonam is a part of Chennai Metropolitan Area. Arakkonam is one of the hottest towns in India, where the temperature can exceed 43 °C (110 °F) for several peak days in summer. The name 'Arakkonam' was derived from the word "Arunthamizhkundram" also later called "Aarukonam", meaning 'hexagon' which connects six important places around. The ancient name of the town was "Arumthamizh kundram" ("Arumtamil kunram") which is believed to have been derived from the Tamil words aaru konam meaning "six angles" or hexagon, based on the fact that six important places exist on the town's six sides, namely Kanchipuram, Thakkolam, Manavur, Thiruvalangadu, Thiruttani and Sholinghur. Arakkonam Junction is one of the oldest junctions in the country connecting with major cities such as Bangalore, Mumbai, Goa, Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Tirupati, Mangalore, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. The Arakkonam Municipality was constituted as a 3rd Grade Municipality on 1 October 1958 and upgraded to a 2nd Grade Municipality on 1 May 1974 and has been a 1st Grade Municipality from 17 April 1984. The area of the municipality is . Arakkonam is a part of the assembly and parliamentary constituencies of the same name. This municipality contains 36 wards. Arakkonam Junction railway station is one of the largest railway junction in Tamil Nadu. It strategically located at the intersection of the Chennai–Bangalore line, Arakkonam–Chengalpattu branch line and the Guntakal–Chennai line, which is part of Mumbai–Chennai line. The town has one of the biggest workshops for Southern Railway, known as the 'Engineering Workshop' (EWS) which has many employees serving the Indian Railways in various process related with fabrication and processing of various metal components for the railways.