The temple city's station
Madurai is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in India, built around the great Meenakshi Amman Temple, and Madurai station, officially Madurai Junction (code MDU), sits on West Veli Street, on the edge of the old city that grew up around the temple's concentric streets. The station is the headquarters of Southern Railway's Madurai division and is graded NSG-2.
From metre gauge to broad gauge
The railway reached Madurai in 1875, on the metre-gauge network that served most of southern Tamil Nadu. For more than a century Madurai was a metre-gauge city, and trains to Chennai ran to Chennai Egmore, the great metre-gauge terminus of the south. In 1999 the station was rebuilt for broad gauge, opening direct broad-gauge services across India.
Four directions
| Direction | Next junction | Towards |
|---|---|---|
| North | Dindigul | Tiruchirappalli and Chennai |
| South | Virudhunagar | Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari |
| South-east | Manamadurai | Rameswaram |
| West | Bodinayakkanur | The Western Ghats foothills |
A proposed Madurai–Melur–Tirupattur–Karaikudi line has been shelved pending a Railway Board decision.
By the numbers (2022–23)
- About 6.7 million passengers in the year, roughly 18,400 boarding a day
- Daily footfall of about 38,000
- Annual revenue of about ₹186.6 crore
There are 7 platforms on 11 tracks and is one of 73 Tamil Nadu stations selected for redevelopment under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.
Trains to know
Madurai's famous links to Chennai include the Vaigai Express and Pandian Express, and the premium Tejas Express to Chennai Egmore. A Vande Bharat Express connects Madurai with Bengaluru. Our train schedule page has current timings.
Visiting from MDU
- The Meenakshi Amman Temple is a short ride or walk into the old city.
- Thirumalai Nayak Palace and the Gandhi Memorial Museum are close by.
- Rameswaram, across the Pamban bridge, is reached via Manamadurai.