Elattuvalapil Sreedharan (born 12 June 1932), known as E. Sreedharan and the “Metro Man of India”, is a retired Indian civil engineer. He led the building of the Konkan Railway and the Delhi Metro, two of the most difficult infrastructure projects in independent India, and completed both on schedule and within budget, a rarity in public works. He received the Padma Vibhushan in 2008.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Elattuvalapil Sreedharan |
| Born | 12 June 1932, Karukaputhur, Palakkad district, Kerala, India |
| Age | 94 |
| Occupation | Civil engineer |
| Service | Indian Railway Service of Engineers (1954–1990) |
| Posts | Chairman, Konkan Railway (1990–1997); Managing Director, Delhi Metro (1997–2011) |
| Education | Victoria College, Palakkad; Government Engineering College, Kakinada |
| Spouse | Radha Sreedharan |
| Children | 4 |
| Honours | Padma Shri (2001), Padma Vibhushan (2008) |
Early Life
Sreedharan was born in a village in Palakkad district. At school in Palakkad he was a classmate of T. N. Seshan, later India’s Chief Election Commissioner. After an engineering degree he taught briefly, worked at the Bombay Port Trust and joined the railway engineering service in 1954.
Career
In December 1964 a cyclone washed away much of the Pamban Bridge linking Rameswaram to the mainland. The railways set a six-month target for repairs; Sreedharan, the engineer in charge, restored it in 46 days.
He was in charge of planning and design for the Kolkata Metro, India’s first, from 1970. As head of Cochin Shipyard he launched its first ship, the Rani Padmini, in 1981.
On retiring from the railways he was made head of the new Konkan Railway Corporation. The 760-kilometre line between Mumbai and Mangaluru runs through soft soil and steep hills and needed 93 tunnels and about 2,000 bridges. It was built in seven years.
As managing director of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation he was given unusual freedom from political interference. The first line opened in December 2002, ahead of schedule, and by the time he retired in 2011 about 190 kilometres were running. Known for punctuality and honesty, he displayed clocks counting down to each deadline. He later advised metro projects in Kochi, Lucknow, Jaipur and other cities.
Politics
In February 2021, aged 88, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and contested the Kerala assembly election from Palakkad, losing narrowly. He left active politics that December.
Personal Life
He is married to Radha, and they have four children. He begins each day with meditation and reading the Bhagavad Gita and lives in Ponnani, Kerala.
Awards and Honours
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was E. Sreedharan born?
E. Sreedharan was born on 12 June 1932 in Karukaputhur, Palakkad district, Kerala, India and is 94 years old.
What is E. Sreedharan’s occupation?
Occupation: Civil engineer.
What honours has E. Sreedharan received?
Padma Shri (2001), Padma Vibhushan (2008).
Featured image: E. Sreedharan receives the Padma Vibhushan from President Pratibha Patil at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, 10 May 2008. Photo by President’s Secretariat, licensed under Government Open Data License – India, via Wikimedia Commons.
