Transport in Chennai includes various modes of air, sea, road and rail transportation in the city and its suburbs. Chennai's economic development has been closely tied to its port and transport infrastructure, and it is considered one of the best infrastructure systems in India.

History

The city of Chennai is the birthplace of the railway system in India. In 1831–33, Madras Parliament first came up with the idea. In 1832, the first proposal of railway under the British administration was made in Madras, 21 years before the first operational railway line in India. Later in 1836 A. P. Cotton, a civil engineer in Madras, advocated the construction of a railroad in India.

Meanwhile, in 1835, a short railway line intended to carry granite stones was laid at Chintadripet on an experimental basis, which later became to known as Red Hill Railroad line. Construction on this line began in 1836 and the line was opened in 1837. Despite a few troubles, the line became operational in the same year, with a written report of its functioning since January 1838, thus marking the first rail transport in the country 16 years prior to the running of the first commercial passenger service in India, the Bori Bunder–Thane train with 14 carriages hauled by three locomotives on 16 April 1853. Although the Chintadripet line was primarily intended for wagons hauled by animals, steam locomotives were also operated on the line, one of which is believed to be built in India.

In 1845, Madras Railway Company was mooted, and in 1852 Madras Guaranteed Railway Company was formed. In 1852, the work for laying the first track by Madras Guaranteed Railway Company between Madras and Arcot was started, and in 1856, the first train run between Royapuram and Arcot. In 1895, the first electric trams became operational in the city. The work for suburban train services started in 1928 and became operational in 1931 between Madras Beach and Tambaram with electric multiple units (EMUs). The tram services were withdrawn in 1953. With the operation of the mass rapid transit system (MRTS) between Chennai Beach and Chepauk in 1995, the city is the first to have an elevated track in India.

As of 1 April 2013, the total vehicle population of Chennai is 3,881,850, including 3,053,233 two wheelers.

Growth trend of motor vehicles in the city is listed below:

+ Transport in Chennai No.Year of growth Total registered vehicles1.1981120,0002.1986228,0003.1991544,0004.1996812,0005.1998975,0006.20123,760,0007.20164,757,8228.20175,309,9069.20206,016,717

Transportation in the past Trams

Trams were existent in the city for about 67 years starting from the end of the 19th century. The city was home to the first electric trams in India. Trams became a necessary one as the area of the city was widely dispersed with broad avenues radiating from the fort area. The first electric trams became operational in the city on 7 May 1895. Trams were operated between the docks and the inland areas, carrying goods and passengers. The route encompassed Mount Road, Parry's Corner, Poonamallee Road and the Ripon Building. Run by the Madras Electricity System (MES), trams on rails dominated Chennai roads and remained a convenient mode of transport for thousands of riders as it could carry heavy loads. They moved at a maximum speed of just 7 km/h. Two types of trams were in operations—the bigger type measuring about 50 ft in length and the smaller type measuring about 35 ft. A total of 200 commuters could conveniently travel in trams, which had wooden seats to seat 60 passengers. The trams ran on electricity. The original conduit system was replaced by an conventional overhead wire system after a series of destructive monsoons. By 1921, when the tram system was at its peak, there were 24 km of track and 97 cars.

A strike by workers demanding wage revision resulted in a lock-out of the tram company by about 1950. Subsequently, the then Chief Minister C. Rajagopalachari favoured the idea of ending the service, and the tram service came to an end on 12 April 1953. The rails of the tram embedded on roads continued to remain for several years after the withdrawal of the service, since their removal would cost the government a fortune. The contract to remove the tracks and overhead cables was given to Narainsingh Ghanshamsingh.

Road transportation

The city and metropolitan area are served by major arterial roads that run either in an east–west or north–south direction. Anna Salai – or Mount Road as it is more popularly called – is the city's most famous road. It traverses most of central and south Chennai and leads on to the Grand Southern Trunk Road (National Highway 45) to Tiruchirapalli. The road runs in a northeast–southwest direction. Other arterials include Kamaraj Salai, Poonamalee High Road (National Highway 48), Radhakrishnan Salai, and Sardar Patel Road. The East Coast Road starts from Thiruvanmiyur and connects Mahabalipuram, Pondicherry and extends beyond.

Buses The first motor bus service in the city was organised by the Madras Tramway Corporation between 1925 and 1928.Muthiah, Pg 323 Most motor bus service providers in the city were nationalised as per the 1939 Motor Vehicles Act. The Pallavan Transport Corporation was created on 1 January 1972 to serve Madras city. It had a fleet of 1030 buses. In 1994, Pallavan Transport Corporation was bifurcated into Dr. Ambedkar Transport Corporation Limited for northern Madras and Pallavan Transport Corporation Limited for southern Madras. The two were reunited in 2001 to form the Metropolitan Transport Corporation. The bus service, currently, plies about 4,000 buses on 622 routes, moves an estimated 5.038 million passengers each day.

The Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G.R Bus Terminus, opened in 2001, is one of the largest bus station in Asia, and serves as the terminus for all intercity buses from Chennai. The CMBT is located on the Inner Ring Road at Koyambedu in the western part of Chennai, replacing the older terminus on the Esplanade in the city centre. State transport and private bus services to all major cities and towns in Tamil Nadu and neighbouring states start from here.

Other road vehicles In addition to the bus service, private metered call taxis and fixed-rate tourist taxis are available at all entry points to the city like airport, mofussil bus terminus and central railway station. Unmetered autos ply across the city charging flat rates. Economical alternative to the auto rickshaws are the share autos, in which passengers pay a shared fee to their destination. In 2012, according to estimates, 66,679 auto rickshaws and over 2,000 share autos were running in the city. Of these, about 10,000 are operated using diesel. About 41,700 auto rickshaws run on LPG. Vans which are run like bus services and popularly called "Maxi Cabs" also ply on many routes in the city. The outlying suburban areas of the city are also served by private mini bus company services as well as government bus transport corporations of neighbouring districts.

Despite a sharp increase in the number of four-wheelers in the city, motorscooters are still very prevalent and are preferred to cars due to their affordability, fuel efficiency, manoeuvrability, and ease of parking.

In February 2014, bicycle-sharing system was conceived by the corporation to encourage bicycle transportation. Around 3,000 cycles was planned to be stationed at 200 places, which can be accessed with smart card system. The neighbourhoods of Thousand Lights, Egmore, Mylapore, Royapettah, Kamarajar Salai, government offices and Fort complex will be covered by the network in the first phase.

There are 31 auto LPG dispensing stations (ALDS) in the city, of which 11 are owned by Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL). They have a capacity to supply 604,000 litres a day but an average of only 150,000 is sold daily. The demand is around 600,000 litres a day.

The city has a total of 372 junctions.

Rail

The first railway station in Madras city was opened at Royapuram in 1853. The first to be constructed in South India, the Royapuram station served as the headquarters of the Madras Railway Company. On 1 July 1856, the first railway service in South India was commenced between Madras and Arcot.Muthiah, Pg 321 Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station was opened in 1873 followed by the Egmore Railway Station in 1908. Egmore served as the headquarters of the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway from 1908 to 1951 while M.G.R Chennai Central served as the headquarters of the South Indian Railway Company from 1927 to 1951. Both the companies were liquidated when India's railway network was nationalised in the 1950s. M.G.R Chennai Central is currently the headquarters of the Southern Railway Zone of the Indian Railways.

Chennai's first suburban electric train service was inaugurated between Chennai Beach and Tambaram on 2 April 1931. The Chennai suburban railway system currently has 6 lines with a total system length of about (non-redundant track length) of which are true suburban and MEMU service].

North Line: M.G.R Chennai Central MMC – Ennore – Gummidipoondi – Sullurpeta (— Gudur – Nellore – Bitragunta) South Line: Chennai Beach – Tambaram – Chengalpattu (— Melmaruvathur – Tindivanam – Villupuram – Puducherry (union territory)) South West Line: Chennai Beach – Tambaram – Chengalpattu (— Kanchipuram – Tirumalpur – Arakkonam) West Line: Chennai Central MMC – Ambattur – Avadi – Tiruvallur – Arakkonam (— Katpadi – Jolarpet) North West Line: M.G.R Chennai Central MMC – Ambattur – Avadi – Tiruvallur – Arakkonam – Tiruttani (— Renigunta – Tirupati) South West Frontier Line: Chennai Beach – Royapuram – Washermanpet – Perambur – Ambattur – Arakkonam (— Katpadi – Vellore)

The system uses broad gauge. The section from Washermanpet to Beach handles predominantly freight traffic from Chennai Port, and is not geared well to serve passengers.

MRTS System

The MRTS system opened in the early 1990s and consists of the following active sections:

Chennai Beach – Velachery - St. Thomas Mount

The last operational extension happened in March 2026 where MRTS system is extended to meet with the Tambaram branch of the existing suburban network at St. Thomas Mount. This plan envisages the MRTS line to proceed north from St. Thomas Mount via Velachery, forming a ring around the city and ending at the northbound M.G.R Central-Gummidipoondi line. However, extending MRTS beyond St. Thomas Mount is not very certain in light of the State Government deciding to develop the Chennai Metro rail system.

Metro Railway

Metro system of Chennai is currently operational with 2 corridors, and 3 more corridors under construction to meet the future urban transport requirements. First metro service for city was inaugurated from Koyambedu - Alandur on 29 June 2015. As a part of Phase-1 extension, Corridor 1 was extended till Wimco Nagar. In second phase, 3 corridors are under construction with plans to extend Corridor 1 from Airport to Kilambakkam and Corridor 5 from Koyambedu to Pattabiram.

(Corridor 1): Wimco Nagar – Chennai International Airport (Corridor 2): M.G.R Chennai Central – St. Thomas Mount (Corridor 3): Madhavaram – SIPCOT Siruseri II (Corridor 4): Poonamallee - Lighthouse (Corridor 5): Madhavaram – Sholinganallur

Smart Card

The Smart Card looks similar to a debit card, issued by CMRL at ticket counters for Rs. 100 currently. This Rs. 100 includes Rs. 50 refundable deposit, and Rs. 50 travel value. The travel value can be used to purchase platform and travel tickets for the Chennai metro trains. The smart card is valid for 6 months from the date of purchase and the extra amounts of travel value can be recharged whenever needed. It is found that very few people are using this smart card and many ticket vending machines which work on Smart cards do not function properly.

Airport