Southern Railway (SR) is one of the eighteen zones of Indian Railways. It is headquartered at Chennai and operates across the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and the union territory of Puducherry. The origin of the Southern Railway can be traced back to the Madras Railway formed in 1845. Southern Railway was created on 14 April 1951 by merging three state railways, namely, the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway, the South Indian Railway Company, and the Mysore State Railway. Southern Railway maintains about 5,081 km (3,157 mi) of railway lines and operates 727 railway stations.
The Pearl City (Muthunagar) Super Fast Express is an overnight Superfast Express train of the Southern Railway zone of the Indian Railways. The Pearl City (Muthunagar) Superfast Express runs between Thoothukudi and Chennai Egmore via Virudunagar, Madurai, Dindigul, Tiruchchirappalli, Vriddhachalam, Villupuram and Chengalpattu.
The Pandian Express is a Superfast overnight express train of the Southern Railway zone of the Indian Railways which runs daily between Madurai Junction and Chennai Egmore via Villupuram, Vridhachalam and Tiruchirappalli. The inaugural run of this express train is during Oct 01, 1969 on Wednesday.
Pallavan Superfast Express is an Intercity express typed superfast service operated by the Southern Railway zone of the Indian Railways. This service connects the cities of Chennai to Karaikudi via Tiruchirappalli in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The rakes of this train was upgraded to brand new modern LHB rakes from 30 June 2019. Pallavan SuperFast is fondly known as "Prince of Southern Railway" runs along with its rake sharer Vaigai Express "King of Southern Railway" runs between Madurai Junction-Chennai Egmore, they both collectively known as "Chord Line Brothers".
The Cheran Superfast Express is an overnight Super Fast Express train in India which runs daily between Coimbatore Junction and Chennai Central via Salem Jn on the Southern Railway zone of the Indian Railways.
The Vaigai Superfast Express is an Intercity Express high-speed express train which runs daily between Madurai and Chennai, via Tiruchirappalli. It is operated by the Southern Railway zone of the Indian Railways and was introduced due to increasing demand for a day train between the cities during the 1970s. It was the first instance in which a high-speed train was introduced on a metre-gauge railway within the Southern Railway zone. Vaigai SuperFast is fondly referred to as the "King of Southern Railway"; and its rake sharer Pallavan Express "Prince of Southern Railway" running between Chennai Egmore and Karaikudi Junction are collectively known as the "Chord Line brothers".
The Rameswaram Express, previously known as the Boat Mail or Indo-Ceylon Express, is an express train that connects Mandapam with the state capital Chennai via Tambaram, Chengalpet, Melmaruvattur, Viluppuram, Cuddalore port, Chidambaram, Sirkazhi, Mayiladuthurai, Tanjore, Tiruchchirappalli, Pudukkottai, Karaikudi, Sivagangai, Manamadurai and Ramanathapuram. During the 1900s, it was a combined train and steamer ferry service between India and Ceylon. Connecting Chennai and Colombo, the system initially utilised a rail-to-sea operation, but changed to a rail-to-sea-to-rail operation. Passengers could buy a single ticket for the journey. Now, it runs from Chennai Egmore to Rameswaram via Villuppuram, Kumbakonam, Tiruchchirappalli, Pudukkottai, Karaikkudi, Devakottai, Manamadurai, Paramakkudi, Ramanathapuram, Mandapam, and Pamban.
The 22645/22646 Ahilya nagari Express is a weekly Superfast train of the Indian Railways, running between Indore in Madhya Pradesh and Kochuveli in Kerala. From February 2021, the terminal was changed to Kochuveli instead of Thiruvananthapuram Central. It runs between Kochuveli and Indore via Chennai Central
Chennai Central–Thiruvananthapuram Central Mail is a daily Superfast Express mail train running between Thiruvananthapuram and Chennai Central under Southern Railway zone that connects the Capital city of Tamil Nadu with the Capital City of Kerala. It is one of the prestigious train of the Indian Railways. This train runs via Kottayam. This train connects Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram along with six big cities in South India – Salem, Erode, Coimbatore, Thrissur, Kochi and Kollam.
Chennai–Thiruvananthapuram Superfast Express is a daily superfast train connecting Chennai to Thiruvananthapuram. The train was introduced on 30 May 2006 and runs daily from Chennai Central to Thiruvananthapuram Central.
The Silambu Super fast Express (20681/20682) is a train that runs between Chennai Egmore and Sengottai via Karaikkudi Junction. Initially it ran up to Manamadurai, later it was extended up to Sengottai. It was the only train in Indian Railways where LHB rakes were replaced by ICF coaches again. According to IR if a train gets new LHB coaches it won't be converted to ICF. But this train was again replaced with ICF coaches after getting new LHB rakes. The train must to be restored with LHB coaches before December 31, 2023.
The Uzhavan Express is a train route of the Southern Railway zone of the Indian Railways and runs between Chennai Egmore and Thanjavur Junction. The express was introduced on 1 September 2013. It operates daily and covers a distance of 351 km.
The 12663 / 12664 Tiruchirappalli – Howrah Superfast Express is an inter-city Express service connecting Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu with Howrah (Kolkata), West Bengal in India. The train is the first long-distance train operated by Tiruchirappalli railway division from Tiruchirappalli Junction, running beyond Tamil Nadu border.
Chennai Egmore–Mangaluru Central Express is an express train connecting Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India with Mangalore in Karnataka, India. The main cities it passes through are Chennai Egmore, Villuppuram, Tiruchirappalli, Karur, Erode, Coimbatore, Palakkad, Tirur (Malappuram), Kozhikode, Kannur, Kasargod and Mangalore
The Chendur Superfast Express is an Express train operated by Southern Railway zone of Indian railways. This train runs between Thiruchendur and Chennai Egmore. It is a daily overnight service and an important train of Tiruchendur–Tirunelveli line.
The Chennai Central–Nagercoil Superfast Express is a Superfast train belonging to Southern Railway zone that runs between Chennai Central and Nagercoil in India. It is currently being operated with 12689/12690 train numbers on a weekly basis.
The Chennai Egmore–Jodhpur Express is a Superfast train belonging to Southern Railway zone that runs between Chennai Egmore and Jodhpur Junction in India. It is currently being operated with 22663/22664 train numbers on a weekly basis.
The 20691 / 20692 Tambaram–Nagercoil Antyodaya Express is an express train of the Indian Railways connecting Chennai Tambaram and Nagercoil Junction in Tamil Nadu. It is operated daily from Chennai Tambaram to Nagercoil Junction as train number 20691, and from Nagercoil Junction to Chennai Tambaram as train number 20692.
The Chennai Egmore–Kollam Junction Express is a daily train that runs between Chennai Egmore and Kollam Junction in India. It is the successor of 115 years old Quilon Mail, which ran once upon a time in metre-gauge lines between Madras and Quilon.
The Kollam–Tirupati Express is an Express train belonging to Southern Railway zone that runs between Kollam in Kerala and Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh in India. The service was temporarily operated as special train before converting it as a permanent train on a biweekly basis in August 2023. On 12 March 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually flagged off the inaugural run of Kollam–Tirupati Express.
