Thoothukudi – Connectivity

Thoothukudi – Connectivity

Thoothukudi has transport connections via road, rail, sea and air. After Chennai, Thoothukudi is only city in Tamil Nadu to have all four means of transport

By Road:

Thoothukudi has an extensive transport network and is well-connected to other major cities by road, rail and air. The corporation maintains a total length of 428.54 km (266.28 mi). The city has 37.665 km (23.404 mi) concrete roads, 329.041 km (204.457 mi) black topped surface roads, 56.592 km (35.165 mi) water bound macadam roads & 5.242 km (3.257 mi) earthen roads.

The major roads within the city are NH 7A connecting Palayamkottai, Ettayapuram road (also called Madurai road) National Highway 45B (India), Ramanathapuram road or East Coast Road, Thiruchendur road or SH-176, West Cotton road and Victoria Extension Road. A bye pass road located outside the city connects the harbour, thermal plant, SPIC industry and Madurai Road.  

There are two bus stands in the city; the old bus stand is located in the Palayamkottai road and the new bus stand is located in the Ettaiyapuram road. Around 700 buses are operated from these two bus stands, catering the local & intercity transport. The Tamilnadu State Transport Corporation operates daily services connecting various cities to Thoothukudi.

A new regional headquarters of TNSTC is being established in Thoothukudi which enables better transportation by government buses. The corporation operates a computerized reservation centre in the bus stand of the city. The State Express Transport Corporation operates long distance buses connecting the city to important cities like Bangalore, Chennai, Vellore and Kanyakumari.

Thoothukudi being a harbour city has lot of container truck transport. As of 2008, the number of container trucks entering the city is 1000. The expansion of ECR from Thoothukudi to Kanyakumari via Thiruchendur and Koodankulam at a cost of 2.57 billion sanctioned and is in progress.

By Train:

Thoothukudi railway station is one of the oldest and popular railway stations in India. It is one of few stations in Southern Tamilnadu to have Pitline facility for Cleaning and Maintenance of Rail Coaches facilitating the operation of Long distance Trains from Tuticorin. The line between Madurai and Thoothukudi was opened in 1874. The lines connecting to Tuticorin is being electrified recently.

Tuticorin has direct daily rail connectivity to Chennai, Bangalore, Mysore, Coimbatore, Salem, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Pune, Surat, Ahmedabad, Okha etc., Pearl City Express which connects Tuticorin with Chennai is one of the Prestigious Trains of Southern Railway. An 8 Coach Link Train to Guruvayur Express has been introduced recently which connects Tuticorin with Chennai during daytime.

Tuticorin City railway station is one of the oldest stations in India and South Indian Railway began Madras – Tuticorin service connecting with the boat to Ceylon in 1899. The station was declared a Model Station in 2007 and several infrastructure developments are in process. There is also another station, known as Tuticorin Melur.

By Air:

Tuticorin Airport, is located at Vagaikulam at a distance of 14 km (9 mi), from the heart of the city. It has flights to Chennai twice a day operated by Spicejet. The State Government and Airport Authority of India plans to extend the runway and modernize the airport to handle to more traffic and bigger aircraft. The land acquisition process is completed and AAI is ready to start the expansion works.

A new Terminal has been planned and the runway is to be expanded to facilitate the movement of Airbus A320 and Boeing 737s. There was also a proposal in 2009 for a Greenfield airport. Madurai Airport, is the nearest international airport. Madurai Airport has daily International Connectivity to Colombo, Singapore, Malaysia and other Gulf Countries.

By Sea:

Tuticorin Port is a deep-sea harbour and one of the major ports in India. A luxury ferry liner, the Scotia Prince, is conducting a ferry service to Colombo, Sri Lanka. Ferry services between the two countries have been revived after more than 20 years. Tuticorin Port Trust, was recently renamed as V. O. Chidambaram Port is an artificial deep-sea harbour.