Southern Railway has started a new 12-car air‑conditioned suburban train on the Chennai Beach–Chengalpattu route. This marks the first time Chennai has offered a 12-coach AC local train.
The train makes four trips daily—two from Chennai Beach to Chengalpattu and two back. It stops at key stations including Tambaram, Guindy, Mambalam, Perungalathur, and Chengalpattu.
Since the AC locals began in April, daily ridership has nearly doubled—from about 1,500 in April to nearly 2,800 in June.
Upgrading from 9 cars to 12 has increased capacity by roughly 21%.
The AC fare is only a little higher than the first-class non-AC fare and matches the cost of metro and AC bus services. With this improved service and new rail networks coming up, more commuters are expected to switch to AC locals.
