Southern Railway conducts trial run of AC suburban train on Chennai-Arakkonam section

The Chennai-Arakkonam suburban train section will soon have its first air-conditioned coach services from this summer, as the Southern Railway conducted a test run of an AC train between the railway shed in Avadi and Arakkonam railway station.

It comes after the successful operation of the first air-conditioned suburban train services between Chennai Beach-Chengalpattu railway stations, which began its run in April 2025. “Originally, the air-conditioned train services on the section (Chennai-Arakkonam) were planned for January 2026, ahead of summer. Due to some delays, the services will commence soon,” a senior railway official told The Hindu.

Railway officials said that this was the first time such a test to run air-conditioned EMU services on the section had been conducted. The idea to start such a service on the route was based on several recommendations made by local commuters, including traders, office goers and senior citizens, especially after the commencement of similar train services on the Chennai Beach-Chengalpattu section. “The new air-conditioned suburban train services will have good patronage as a large number of commuters depend on rail connectivity to reach Chennai in a short time,” said S. Ethiraj, president, Arakkonam All Traders Association.

Railway officials said that an air-conditioned suburban train with 12 coaches will be operated, especially during rush hour. It will operate on the lines of the existing Chennai Central-Arakkonam fast that has limited stops at key railway stations such as Basin Bridge, Perambur, Ambattur, Avadi, Tiruvallur and Arakkonam.

More importantly, unlike regular suburban train services on the section, which take at least three hours to cover the distance, Arakkonam fast local train is much quicker as it takes only two hours to reach Arakkonam, around 80 kms from Chennai.

The minimum speed limit of the air-conditioned train services will be 90 km/h. It will be increased to a maximum speed limit of 110 km/h on the route. The test run also included checking track movement in terms of stability, signal coordination and speed limits on the route.

At present, the railway station has only two tracks where all express and suburban trains are operated. Apart from local trains, more than 120 express trains pass through the railway station every day. Recently, the Southern Railway has created an additional space of nine metres near the existing tracks to lay at least two new tracks to operate more express trains in future.