The State government would have to send the proposal to the railway ministry, which would take on a call on the issue after consulting various stakeholder ministries, including finance. 

“Though the station is operated by us (Southern Railway zone), the land belongs to the State government, which is the rightful owner of the property. Tamil Nadu has the right to rename the station. For us, it is only a cosmetic change. Renaming will not change the station code, which will continue to be MAS for Chennai Central,” explained a senior SR officer requesting anonymity.

When such requests are received from private entities, the officer said that the railway ministry will send it to the State government for consent.

Once the State gives its nod, the ministry will consider the renaming request. In this case, the idea has been mooted by the Tamil Nadu government, which will be sent directly to the railway ministry.

“On receipt of the proposal, the railway ministry will consult us (Southern Railway) on the issue. We must clarify on technicalities involved. The final decision will be made by the Centre,” the officer added. 

The Southern Railway (SR) had earlier renamed Trivandrum and Quilon stations in Kerala as Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam respectively. The South Western Railway had rechristened the Bengaluru station as Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna station. The Maniyachi station was renamed Vanchi Maniyachi in honour of freedom fighter Vanchinathan. It may be noted that Tamil Nadu has an history of renaming public facilities. The international airport terminal in Chennai was named after former Chief Minister CN Annadurai, while the domestic terminal was named after another former CM and Congress leader K Kamaraj.