Chennai Central vs Egmore: Which Station Is Your Train At?

How do you tell Chennai Central from Egmore on your ticket?

Chennai has two big long-distance stations, and first-time visitors often assume there is just one. Your ticket names the station and a short code. Chennai Central, officially MGR Central, carries the code MAS. Chennai Egmore carries the code MS. If the ticket says Chennai Egmore, do not go to Central, and the other way round. They are different stations in different parts of the city.

Both are close to Anna Salai (Mount Road), which is why a hotel on this road works for either. From Hotel Royal Park, Chennai Central is about 10 to 15 minutes and Egmore about 10 minutes away, so a wrong turn is not a disaster, but it is still a rushed taxi ride you can avoid by checking the ticket the night before.

What is Chennai Central like for a traveller?

According to its Wikipedia entry, Chennai Central opened in 1873 and has 17 platforms in total: 12 in the main station and 5 in the suburban terminal. The main entrance is on Poonamallee High Road, with other access points on Wall Tax Road and towards the suburban terminal. Facilities listed there include free Wi-Fi, a medical care centre and a large parking area.

The station sits in the Periamet neighbourhood, and the Central metro station is in front of it. That matters if you arrive in the early hours or in a hurry, because the metro, the suburban network and long-distance trains meet in one place. For a first visit, give yourself extra minutes to find the right entrance and platform.

What is Egmore station like?

Chennai Egmore opened in 1880, and its present terminal building was inaugurated in 1908. It has 11 platforms and sits on Gandhi-Irwin Road between two flyovers. Wikipedia describes it as a major terminus for trains to central and southern Tamil Nadu, handling around 120 mail and express trains a day as of 2022.

The same source lists facilities such as waiting halls, retiring rooms, dormitories, multi-storey parking and pre-paid taxi and autorickshaw services. Facility counts change, so treat those numbers as a guide and confirm with the railway before you rely on a particular service.

Which trains usually leave from which station?

Do not rely on habit or a friend's memory here, because timetables change and a train that used to leave from one station can be moved. The ticket is the final word. As a rough guide, Wikipedia describes Egmore as the main terminus for services towards central and southern Tamil Nadu, and lists a Chennai Egmore to Tirunelveli Vande Bharat service. The same source lists Vande Bharat services from Chennai Central to Mysuru, Coimbatore and Narasapur, which shows how services to different regions are spread across both stations.

If you are planning a trip that starts in another state and ends in Tamil Nadu, or the reverse, look at both the arrival station and the departure station on every ticket. A traveller arriving at Central and leaving from Egmore two days later is common, and it is worth telling the hotel desk so they can plan the cab for the right station.

Where do Park and Park Town fit in?

Two more names confuse visitors. Chennai Park station is on Poonamallee High Road, across from Central, and serves the South and South West suburban lines. Park Town is an MRTS station close by. Neither is a long-distance terminus. If your ticket says Central or Egmore, those two are your stations.

Central and Egmore are connected by rail only by a roundabout route through Chennai Beach, around 11.2 km according to Wikipedia, so do not plan to hop between them by train. Use a cab, an auto or the metro instead.

What is a sensible plan for arrival and departure?

Settle the station question first, then work the hotel around it. Rooms at Hotel Royal Park start at Rs 1,600 per night, check-in is at 1 PM and check-out at 11 AM. If your train is early next morning, the short ride from Mount Road keeps the morning calm. If you reach town before 1 PM, ask about hourly booking by phone instead of waiting at the station with bags.

One more habit that helps: screenshot the ticket and the hotel's phone number, +91 73059 49923, before you start the journey, so you can call from the platform if a train runs late and you need to tell the desk when to expect you.

• Read the station name and code on the ticket the evening before.
• Ask the front desk to arrange a cab for your departure hour.
• Leave a buffer for Mount Road traffic, since the 10 to 15 minute figure is for a normal run.
• Keep ID and the ticket in one pocket, not at the bottom of a bag.
• Reconfirm room rates when you book.