Thoothukudi–Tambaram special
- Southern Railway will run special services connecting Chennai and Kanniyakumari, including a Thoothukudi–Tambaram express special. - That Thoothukudi–Tambaram special departs Thoothukudi at 11:30 pm on April 27 and reaches Tambaram at 12:30 am next day. - The route‑level timing was published as part of the summer special notices for travellers. (newindianexpress.com)
Southern Railway has scheduled a one-night Thoothukudi–Tambaram special for April 27 as part of its summer rush services in Tamil Nadu. (newindianexpress.com) The train is listed to leave Thoothukudi at 11:30 p.m. on Monday, April 27, and reach Tambaram at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 28, a 13-hour run on the Southern Railway network. (newindianexpress.com, indiarailinfo.com) Southern Railway’s notices for April also show a matching pair of services, train No. 06018 from Tuticorin to Tambaram on April 20 and April 27, and train No. 06017 from Tambaram back to Tuticorin on April 21 and April 28. Bookings for those services opened on April 18, according to a Southern Railway social media post indexed by search results. (livechennai.com, sotwe.com) Tambaram is Chennai’s main southern suburban rail hub, so specials terminating there let passengers from the far south reach the Chennai region without routing every extra service into Chennai Central or Egmore. Southern Railway has used the same pattern in earlier summer seasons for Podanur, Kochuveli and other routes. (livechennai.com, sr.indianrailways.gov.in, sr.indianrailways.gov.in) The timing lands in the middle of the annual summer travel spike, when schools close and family travel rises across Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Indian Railways said on April 20 that it had approved 908 summer special trains nationwide, covering 18,262 trips between April 15 and July 15, 2026. (publicnow.com, infra.economictimes.indiatimes.com) Route listings published by rail-information sites show the Thoothukudi–Tambaram special stopping at stations including Kovilpatti, Sattur, Virudhunagar, Madurai, Dindigul, Tiruchirappalli, Thanjavur, Kumbakonam, Mayiladuthurai, Villupuram, Melmaruvathur and Chengalpattu before Tambaram. One local report said the service would use 17 LHB coaches. (livechennai.com, indiarailinfo.com) For passengers, the practical change is simple: one more reserved long-distance option from the southern coast into the Chennai area on April 27, with the return working the next day. (newindianexpress.com, sotwe.com)
