Transport in Madurai

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Madurai in Tamil Nadu, India, has well-developed transport facilities. Modes of transport in Madurai include road, rail and air. Madurai faces increasing daily traffic problems, so master plans have been prepared to reduce the city traffic and traffic problems in suburbs.[ example needed ]

Contents

Mattuthavani High Road MADUAI ROAD MEDIAN (1).JPG
Mattuthavani High Road

Road

Madurai is located in the southern part of Tamil Nadu. It is the third largest city in Tamil Nadu and connects the southern districts to northern districts in Tamil Nadu, and is one of the major transportation hubs in Tamil Nadu. The floating population is much heavier in the city . Most of the people from southern districts visit for medical, educational, marketing, cargo, shopping, tourism or official purposes. It is one of the important traffic circles in Tamil Nadu.

M.G.R Bus Stand Mattuthavani Bus Terminus.JPG
M.G.R Bus Stand

There are 30,126 registered three-wheeled vehicles called auto rickshaws, which are commercially available for renting within the city. [1] In addition to the government operated city buses that are used for public transport, there are 236 registered private mini-buses that support local transportation. [1] Madurai connects with the following major national highways;

RoadNoRoute
National Highway7 Kanyakumari - Tirunelveli - Madurai City - Salem - Bengaluru - Varanasi
National Highway45 B Thoothukudi - Madurai - Trichy - Viluppuram - Chennai (Grand southern Trunk Road)
National Highway49 Rameswaram - Thiruppuvanam - Madurai - Kochi
National Highway85Thondi - Sivagangai - Madurai - Theni - Kochi (Point Highway)
National Highway208 Madurai - Rajapalayam - Tenkasi - Sengottai - Kollam
M.G.R Bus Stand High Road Mattuthavani High Road.JPG
M.G.R Bus Stand High Road

The state highways passing through the city are SH-32, SH-33 and SH-72, which connect various parts of Madurai district. [2] Madurai is one of the seven circles of the Tamil Nadu State Highway network, [2] is the headquarters of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (Madurai) and provides local and inter-city bus transport across four districts, namely Madurai, Dindigul, Theni, Virudhunagar, . [3]

City bus service

Madurai city has the best city bus service second only to Chennai. The major city areas are connected by Madurai city bus service, operated by TNSTC (Madurai). Most of the buses, like Ashok leyland and TATA Marcopolo, are equipped with LED Displays and some of the Pseudo SLF buses are equipped with GPS which announce the bus stops for passengers. The city buses are available during day time, but some important areas have city bus services all day long (unlike other regions).

The Madurai Bus Rapid Transit System will plays a vital role in public transportation in the city of Madurai. It will increase the frequency of busses and reduces the travelling time.

Madurai city has major city bus stands and originating terminals such as;

Mofussil Bus service

Madurai has two important mofussil bus terminus;

M.G.R Bus Stand

M.G.R Bus Stand is an ISO 9001:2000 certified integrated mofussil bus stand in the city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India and it is the second largest bus terminus in Tamil Nadu. It is the second busiest mofussil bus terminus in Tamil Nadu after CMBT. The bus station was built at the cost of R100 million.[1] After the successful launch of this new bus stand, more mofussil buses are being operated to the southern districts of Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Virudhunagar, Kanyakumari, Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga and Northern districts like Chennai, Vellore, Trichy, Viluppuram, Perambalur, Pudukkottai, Kumbakonam Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Cuddalore, Tiruvannamalai from the station.

M.G.R Bus Stand Entrance Mattuthavani Bus Stand.JPG
M.G.R Bus Stand Entrance
M.G.R Bus Stand Mattuthavani Bus Terminus.JPG
M.G.R Bus Stand
M.G.R Bus Stand 2nd & 3rd Platform Mattuthavani 3 rd platform.JPG
M.G.R Bus Stand 2nd & 3rd Platform
PlatformBus Route
1 Chennai, Bengaluru, Mysuru, Tirupati, Kochi, Puducherry, Thiruvananthapuram and other interstate buses (SETC)
2 Tiruchirappalli, Cuddalore, Tiruvannamalai, Viluppuram, Ariyalur, Perambalur, Vellore, Neyveli TS, Natham
3 Sivagangai, Thanjavur, Kumbakonam, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam, Vedaranyam, Tiruvarur, Chidambaram, Pudukottai, Karnataka state buses
4 Karaikudi, Devakottai, Aranthangi, Pattukottai, Ponnamaravathi, Melur
5 Ramanathapuram, Rameshwaram, Paramakudi, Kamuthi, Kilakarai, Kerala state buses
6 Rajapalayam, Tenkasi, Srivilliputhur, Sankarankoil, Sengottai, Papanasam, Kadayanallur
7 Thoothukudi, Tiruchendur, Aruppukkottai, Sivakasi, Sattur, Virudhunagar, Vilathikulam
8 Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari, Nagercoil, Kovilpatti, Nanguneri, Valliyur

Aarapalayam bus Terminus

This is another important bus stand in Madurai. Some of the city buses operating here are Coimbatore region and Salem region. The cities like Dindigul, Theni, Coimbatore, Tirupur, Erode, Ooty, Palani, Salem, Oddanchatram, Karur, Dharmapuri, Hosur, Kodaikanal and Pollachi.

In Arapalayam Bus Terminus there are 10 tracks are used to handle the mofussil buses

Upcoming: Because the size of a bus Terminus and located inside the city & increase in number of bus ply, this Bus Terminus always seems congested. So City corporation is planned to set up BUS PORT near upcoming AIIMS .In future Arapalayam Bus Terminus is moved out of city to decongest the city traffic.

TrackBus Route
1 Periyakulam, Batlagundu, Kodaikanal
2 Theni, Bodinayakkanur, Usilampatti, Elumalai, Nilakottai via Sholavandan.
3 Cumbum, Kumily, Thevaram, Uthamapalayam, Thekkadi, Theni
4Bit line ( Free Pass )
5 Erode, Sathyamangalam
6 Dindigul
7 Salem, Dharmapuri, Karur, Namakkal, krishnagiri, Hosur
8 Oddanchatram, Palani, Pollachi, Udumalaipettai, Coimbatore (Ukkadam)
9 Oddanchatram, Coimbatore, Mettupalayam, Ooty
10 Oddanchatram, Tirupur, Gobichettipalayam

Rail

Madurai Junction railway station is one of the major railway junctions in south India and the headquarters of Madurai railway division. It is well connected with all major cities in India. Madurai division is the second largest by revenue in Southern Railway. It is one of the A1 graded stations in the Southern Railway (railway stations which earn of Rs. 50Cr p.a will get an A1 Grade). Madurai has two terminals:

Madurai Junction, the main railway station of Madurai Madurai Rly Station.jpg
Madurai Junction, the main railway station of Madurai

Madurai Junction is an important railway junction in southern Tamil Nadu and constitutes a separate division of the Southern Railway. [4] It is the second largest revenue division in Southern railway next to the Chennai division. There are direct trains from Madurai connecting important cities in India like Chennai, Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Trivandrum, Coimbatore, Kollam, Kanyakumari, Trichy, Tirunelveli, Rameswaram, Thanjavur, Kumbakonam, Vijaywada, Calcutta, Nagpur, and Bhopal. [5] The state government announced a monorail project for Madurai in 2011 named as Madurai Monorail, which is in its planning stages. [6]

Railway lines in Madurai Junction

Line No.TowardsPassing through StationType / Track
1Chennai EgmoreDindigul Junction, Trichirappalli JunctionBroad, Electrified - Double Track
2KanyakumariVirdhunagar Junction, Tirunelveli JunctionBroad, Electrified - Single Track
3RameshwaramManamadurai Junction, RamanathapuramBroad, Single Track
4BodinayakannurUsilampatti, TheniBroad - Under Conversion
5ThoothukudiArupukottaiBroad - Under Survey ( Proposed )
6KaraikudiMelur, ThirupathurBroad - Under survey ( Proposed )

Suburban railway stations in Madurai

Madurai Junction Name Board MADURAI JUNCTION NAME BOARD.JPG
MADURAI JUNCTION BOARD.jpg
Madurai Junction Name Board
Sl No.Station NameStation Code
1KudalnagarKON
2SamayanallurSER
3ThirupparagundramTDN
4ThirumangalamTMQ
5Madurai EastMES
6SilaimaanILA
7VadapalanjiVAJ
8KeelakyuilkudiKKY
9SholavandhanSDN

Air

A view of the Madurai International Airport Madurai Airport 1, Sep 2016.jpg
MaduraiAirport.JPG
A view of the Madurai International Airport

Madurai International Airport (IATA: IXM, ICAO: VOMD) is a customs airport serving Madurai in the state of Tamil Nadu. The airport is located about 12 km (7.5 mi) from the Madurai railway station. The airport was established in 1956 and is one of the most important airports in Tamil Nadu. It offers domestic flight services to major cities in India and international flights to Colombo, Sri Lanka began on 20 September 2012. [7] Now, it also offers services to Dubai and Singapore. Air India Express, IndiGo, Air India and SpiceJet operate from the airport. [8] The airport handled 520,000 passengers between April 2011 and March 2012. [9] [10] [11]

Terminals

The airport has two adjacent terminals. Currently the integrated terminal is being used for both international and domestic purposes. The Airports Authority of India is planning to convert the old terminal into a cargo complex. [12]

Passenger terminal

As the part of modernising 35 non-metropolitan airports, AAI constructed a state-of-art new integrated passenger terminal adjacent to the old terminal. The 1.29 billion (US$16 million) new integrated passenger terminal building was inaugurated on 12 September 2010. A total of 610 acres (250 ha) of land is under acquisition for the expansion of the runway to 12,500 ft (3,800 m) to accommodate large jet aircraft. [13] This terminal with an area of 17,560 m2 (189,000 sq ft) can handle a passenger capacity of 250 each on arrival and departure. [14] [15] The airport parking area has the capacity to park 375 cars and 10 buses. [16] Some of the features of the new terminal include: [17]

  • 16 Check-in counters
  • 12 Immigration counters
  • 1 Security counter
  • 5 customs counters
  • 3 Conveyor belts (47 m (154 ft) each)
  • 2 X-ray scanners for baggage
  • 105 CISF strength
  • Total aircraft stands = 7
    • 1 B767-400
    • 1 A310-300
    • 3 B737-800W/A320-200
    • 2 ATR 72–500. [17]

The new terminal has two lounges, a VIP lounge managed by AAI and the Commercial Important persons (CIP) lounge managed by TNCC-Madurai. [18]

Cargo terminal

Considering the growing cargo potential in Madurai International Airport, AAI has decided to modify the old terminal into a full-fledged cargo complex. [12] To start with, the union finance ministry has issued customs notifications dated 28 May 2013 regarding the handling of cargo at the Madurai International Airport.

Airlines and destinations

AirlinesDestinations
Air India Chennai, Mumbai
Air India Express Singapore
Alliance Air Chennai
IndiGo Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai
SpiceJet Chennai,Delhi, Dubai-International,Mumbai
SriLankan Airlines Colombo–Bandaranaike

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Regional Transport Office – Registered commercial vehicles in Tamil Nadu.
  2. 1 2 Highways Circle of Highways Department, Tamil Nadu.
  3. Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (Madurai) Limited 2011.
  4. Southern Railway Madurai division.
  5. Train Running Information.
  6. ibnlive& 6 June 2011.
  7. The Hindu& 29 August 2012.
  8. Airports Authority of India – Madurai Airport.
  9. Air traffic statistics.
  10. International Air traffic movement.
  11. International Air freight movement.
  12. 1 2 Land acquisition for Madurai airport soon – Times Of India
  13. "New airport terminal to boost industrial growth". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 21 September 2010.
  14. AAI Magazine pg 13
  15. "Airports Authority of India". Aai.aero. 6 January 2011. Archived from the original on 20 February 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  16. "Legislators, tour operators demand international flights from Madurai". NDTV.com. 29 April 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  17. 1 2 Airports Authority of India Archived 20 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  18. "Cities / Madurai : CIP lounge taken on lease". The Hindu. 23 January 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2012.