CHENNAI: The long-pending completion of doubling of 300-km railway lines in southern Tamil Nadu, electrification of single lines, and upgradation of tracks enabling train speeds of up to 110 kmph will deliver tangible benefits in the form of speedier train travel in 2026. The Southern Railway has increased the speed of 65 trains in its new timetable which will be effective from January 1.
According to the official order issued by Southern Railway to six divisions on Monday, among express trains, the Nagercoil-Tambaram Express train will run 50 minutes faster, while the Kollam-Tambaram Express will save 85 minutes.
The Coimbatore-Rameswaram Weekly Express and Cuddalore Port-Mysuru Express will reach their destinations 55 minutes and 50 minutes earlier, respectively, and the tri-weekly Rameswaram-Tirupati Express will reduce travel time by 25 minutes.
While the travel time on the Thoothukudi-Chennai Egmore Pearl City Express will be shorter by 30 minutes, its return journey will be faster by 15 minutes.
Departure and arrival timings at originating railway stations revised
Travel time for the Sengottai-Chennai Egmore Podhigai Express, Chennai Egmore-Mangaluru Express, and Chennai Egmore-Guruvayur Express has been reduced by 20 minutes each. The Ahmedabad-Chennai Express and the Chennai-Tirupati Express will each save 15 minutes, revealed the order.
Railway officials have attributed the reduced travel times to extensive infrastructure upgrades carried out over the past few years. These include increasing permissible speeds from 80/90 kmph to 110 kmph, and from 110 kmph to 130 kmph, across several sections; electrification of single-line routes that eliminated locomotive changes; conversion of metre-gauge lines to broad gauge; and doubling of railway lines in southern Tamil Nadu.
The completion of nearly 300 km of doubling works — including the Madurai-Vanchi Maniyachchi-Thoothukudi (160 km), Vanchi Maniyachchi-Tirunelveli-Nagercoil (102 km), and the Kanniyakumari-Nagercoil-Thiruvananthapuram (86.56 km) sections — was critical in enhancing train speeds.
Additionally, electrification of the Madurai-Bodinayakkanur broad-gauge line (90.41 km) and the Sengottai-Kollam section (94 km), along with other infrastructure improvements, also contributed to the reduction in travel time. Under the Kanniyakumari-Nagercoil-Thiruvananthapuram doubling project, work on the Kanniyakumari-Nagercoil section has been completed, while construction is under way on the Nagercoil-Thiruvananthapuram stretch.
“The benefits of track augmentation and upgradation works have been passed on to passengers in the form of reduced travel time. Further reductions are expected once ongoing track maintenance works in the Villupuram-Madurai section, which pose topographical challenges, are completed,” an official said.
As per the revised time table, the Chennai Central-Nagercoil Weekly Express has been sped up by 20 minutes. Among long-distance weekly services, the New Tinsukia-Tambaram Express and the Silghat Town-Tambaram Nagaon Express will run 50 minutes faster. Several other long-distance trains have been accelerated by 20 to 45 minutes, while 19 trains have been sped up by 10 minutes and 18 trains by five minutes.
Consequently, departure and arrival timings at originating stations such as Chennai Egmore, Tambaram, and others have been revised. In addition to express trains, the travel time of 14 passenger trains has also been reduced. The Tirunelveli-Sengottai passenger service now takes 35 minutes less, the Madurai-Bodinayakkanur service is shortened by 20 minutes, and the Madurai-Rameswaram service by 15 minutes.
Further, the departure timings for several trains from Chennai Egmore and Tambaram, including the Nellai Express, Cholan Express, Guruvayur Express, Rameswaram Express, Pearl City Express, Chennai-Tirunelveli Vande Bharat Express, and Sethu Express, have been changed. Similarly, the departure timings of the Kovai Intercity Express and other trains bound for New Delhi, Hazrat Nizamuddin, and other destinations have also been revised.