Arakkonam

Arakkonam is a municipality town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, with a population of about 101,626 as per the census 2011. This town is located in the Vellore District about 69km (via rail) from the state capital of Chennai. Arakkonam is one of the hottest towns in India, where the temperature can exceed 43 °C (110 °F) for several peak days in the summer. As of 2011, the town had a population of 78,395. It is considered a part of the Chennai Metropolitan Region.HistoryThe ancient name of the town was "Arunthamizh kundram" 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, Tiruttani, Ponnai and Sholinghur.Arakkonam is one of the most important junctions of Indian Railways in South India, that is why the station at Arakkonam is called as Arakkonam Joint Junction. The first train to south India was from Mumbai to Royapuram via Arakkonam. Arakkonam Joint 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.