Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

, a state in

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

, has a developed, dense, and modern transportation infrastructure, encompassing both public and private transport. Its capital city

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

is well-connected by land, sea, and air and serves as a major hub for entry into South India.

Road

Tamil Nadu has an extensive road network covering about 2.71 lakh km as of 2023 with a road density of per 1000 km² which is higher than the national average of per 1000 km². The Highways Department (HD) of the state was established in April 1946 and was later renamed as Highways Department on 30 October 2008. The agency is primarily responsible for construction and maintenance of

national highways National Highways (NH), formerly Highways England and before that the Highways Agency, is a State-owned enterprise, government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving Roads in England, motorways and major A roads in Eng ...

, state highways, major district roads and other roads in the state. It operates through eleven wings with 120 divisions and 450 subdivisions. The agency maintains of highways in the state.

National highways

The ‘’National Highways Wing’’ of the highways department of Tamil Nadu was established in 1971 to look after the works of improving, maintaining and renewing of

National Highways National Highways (NH), formerly Highways England and before that the Highways Agency, is a State-owned enterprise, government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving Roads in England, motorways and major A roads in Eng ...

laid down by

National Highways Authority of India The National Highways Authority of India or NHAI () is an autonomous agency of the Government of India, set up in 1995 (Act 1988) and is responsible for management of a road network of over 50,000 km of National highways out of 1,32,499 ...

(NHAI). There are 48 national highways of length in the state.

State highways

Roads which connect

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

headquarters, important towns and

in the state are classified as state highways. Construction and maintenance wing of the highways department is responsible for the construction, maintenance of the state highways. The wing has eight circles namely

Coimbatore Coimbatore (Tamil: kōyamputtūr, ), also known as Kovai (), is one of the major Metropolitan cities of India, metropolitan cities in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyy ...

Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...

, Salem,

Tiruchirappalli Tiruchirappalli (), also known as Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with being the best livable and the cleanest city of T ...

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (), also known as Nellai and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirunelveli District. It is the fourth-largest munici ...

, Tiruppur and Villupuram.

Other Roads

Other roads include major district roads (MDR), other district roads (ODR), rural & sugarcane roads and special roads such as

East Coast Road East Coast Road (ECR), combination of SH-49, NH-332A, NH-32, officially known as Mutthamizh Arignar Kalaignar Road, is a two-lane highway (now being partially widened to four lanes from Chennai to Mamallapuram) in Tamil Nadu, India, built alo ...

, IT Expressway, Ennore-Manali Road Improvement Project (EMRIP), Chennai Port – Maduravoyal Expressway and Outer Ring Road Project. These roads provide linkage between various towns and centers within districts and connectivity to respective district and taluk headquarters.

Vehicle transport

As of 2020, Tamil Nadu had 32.1 million registered vehicles.

Public transport

As of 2020, 32,598 buses are operated with the state transport units operating 20,946 buses along with 7,596 private buses and 4,056 mini buses.

Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation Ltd. - (TNSTC) is a government owned public transport bus operator in Tamil Nadu, India. It operates Intercity bus services to cities within Tamil Nadu, and from Tamil Nadu to its neighbouring states. It al ...

(TNSTC) run by Government of Tamil Nadu is the primary

public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...

bus operator in the state. It was established in 1947 when private buses operating in

Madras presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

were nationalized by the government. It operates buses along intra and inter state bus routes, as well as city routes. There are eight divisions of TNSTC including Metropolitan Transport Corporation in Chennai and State Express Transport Corporation. State Express Transport Corporation Limited (SETC), established in 1980, runs long-distance express services exceeding 250 km and above. It links important cities and other historical, religious and commercial towns, and adjoining states of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

and the Union Territory of Puducherry. SETC operates various classes of services such as semi-deluxe, ultra-deluxe and air-conditioned with advance booking and reservation on all of its routes.

Rail

The rail network in Tamil Nadu forms a part of Southern Railway of

Indian Railways Indian Railways is a state-owned enterprise that is organised as a departmental undertaking of the Ministry of Railways (India), Ministry of Railways of the Government of India and operates India's national railway system. , it manages the fou ...

. Southern Railway is headquartered in

and there are four divisions in the state namely

and Salem. As of 2023, the state had a total railway track length of covering a route length of . There are 532 railway stations in the state with

Chennai Central Chennai Central (officially Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station, formerly Madras Central) (station code: MAS), is an NSG–1 category Indian railway station in Chennai railway division of Southern Railway zone ...

, Chennai Egmore, Coimbatore Junction and Madurai Junction being the top revenue earning stations. Indian railways also has a coach manufacturing unit at

electric locomotive An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a Battery (electricity), battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime mover (locomotive), ...

sheds at

Arakkonam Arakkonam () is a railway town in the Ranipet district, state of Tamil Nadu. Included within the Chennai metropolitan area, Chennai Metropolitan Area since 2022, Arakkonam is a major suburb of the state capital city Chennai, with a population ...

Erode Erode (; īrōṭu), is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Kaveri river and is surrounded by the Western Ghats. Erode is the seventh largest urban agglomeration in Tamil Nadu. It is the administrativ ...

and

Royapuram Royapuram is a locality in the northern part of the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is best known for its beach, and for Royapuram Railway Station. The station is the first railway station of South India, opening in 1856, and is today ...

diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover (locomotive), power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is con ...

sheds at

and Tondiarpet,

Steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

shed at

Coonoor Coonoor (), is a taluk and a municipal town of the Nilgiris district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. As of 2011, the town had a population of 45,494. The town sits at the south-east corner of the Nilgiri plateau, and at the head of the Coonoo ...

along with various maintenance depots.

Suburban and MRTS

Chennai has a well-established suburban railway network operated by Southern railway, which was established in 1928. The Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) is an elevated urban mass transit system established in 1995 operating on a single line from Chennai Beach to

Velachery Velachery is a neighborhood of Chennai. It is located in the southern part of the Chennai city sharing borders with Guindy in the north, Taramani in the east, Perungudi in the south-east, Pallikaranai wetland, Pallikaranai in the south, Madipa ...

Metro

Chennai Metro is a

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...

rail system in Chennai which was opened in 2015. As of 2023, the metro system consists of two operational lines operating across with 41 stations. Chennai metro system is being expanded with a proposed addition of three more lines and extension of . Rapid rail projects for

and

have been proposed.

Mountain railway

Nilgiri Mountain Railway is a railway in

Nilgiris district The Nīlgiris district is one of the 38 List of districts of Tamil Nadu, districts in the South India, southern Indian States and union territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. Nilgiri () is the name given to a range of mountains spread acro ...

connecting Mettupalayam and

Udagamandalam Ooty (; officially Udagamandalam (), anglicized: Ootacamund , abbreviated as Udagai, ) is a town and municipality in the Nilgiris district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located northwest of Coimbatore, and is the headquarters of N ...

. It was built by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

in 1908 and is operated by the Southern Railways. It is the only

rack railway A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with ...

in India and operates on its own fleet of

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

s between

and Udhagamandalam. In July 2005,

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

added the Nilgiri Mountain Railway as an extension to the

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Mountain Railways of India The Mountain railways of India are the railway lines that were built in the mountainous regions of India. The term mainly includes the narrow-gauge railways in these regions but may also include some broad-gauge railways. Three of the lines, th ...

Air

There are three international, one limited international and six domestic or private airports in Tamil Nadu. Chennai airport, which is the fourth busiest airport by passenger traffic in India is a major international airport and the main gateway to the state. Other international airports in the state include

and

Tiruchirapalli Tiruchirappalli (), also known as Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with being the best livable and the cleanest city of Ta ...

while

is a customs airport with limited international flights. Domestic flights are operational to certain airports like

Tuticorin Thoothukudi (formerly called Tuticorin) is a port industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It lies on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. The city is capital and headquarters of the district. ...

and Salem while flights are planned to be introduced to more domestic airports by the

UDAN ''Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik'' (Hindi for "Let the common citizens of the country fly"), known by its acronym ''UDAN-RCS'' ('Udan' is Hindi for "flight") is a regional airport development program of the Government of India and part of the Regio ...

scheme of

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

. The region comes under the purview of the Southern Air Command of the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

. The Air Force operates three air bases in the state Sulur,

Tambaram Tambaram is a city located within the Chennai Metropolitan Area in the Indian State of Tamil Nadu. The city is governed by Tambaram City Municipal Corporation. Etymology Tambaram is an ancient town referred to as Taamapuram in an inscrip ...

and

Thanjavur Thanjavur (), also known as Thanjai, previously known as Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the 12th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of southern Indian religion, art ...

. The

Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

operates airbases at

, Uchipuli and Chennai.

Water

Tamil Nadu has long coastline and is the second longest

coastline A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

in the country after

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

. There are three major ports

Ennore Ennore, also spelt , is a neighbourhood in Chennai, India. Ennore is situated on a peninsula and is bounded by the Kosasthalaiyar River, Korttalaiyar River, Ennore Creek and the Bay of Bengal. The creek separates south Ennore from the north Enno ...

and

Thoothukudi Thoothukudi (formerly called Tuticorin) is a port city, port industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It lies on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. The city is capital and headquarters of the di ...

which are managed by the

Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is the Indian ministry responsible for formulation and administration of the rules, regulations and laws relating to ports, shipping and waterways. The minister is Sarbananda Sonowal. History In ...

of Government of India. There is an intermediate sea port at

Nagapattinam Nagapattinam (''nākappaṭṭinam'', previously spelt Nagapatnam or Negapatam) is a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Nagapattinam district. The town came to prominence during the period of Medieval ...

and sixteen other minor ports which are managed by the department of highways and minor ports of Government of Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu forms part of both the

Eastern Naval Command The Eastern Naval Command is one of the three command-level formations of the Indian Navy. It is headquartered in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The command is responsible for the all naval forces in the Bay of Bengal and parts of the Indian Ocea ...

and Southern Naval Command the Indian Navy which has a major base at Chennai and logistics support base at

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Transport in Tamil Nadu Transport in India by state or union territory