Guide details
Best time to visit
Off-peak hours, 10.30am to 4.30pm, for a quieter ride
How to get there
Board at any Blue Line or Green Line station
Highlights
Airport connectivity, Alandur interchange, Chennai Central hub
Good for
Commuters, first-time visitors, budget travel
Price range
Rs 10 to Rs 70 per journey
The Chennai Metro is by far the fastest way to cross the city once the roads clog up, and once you know the two lines and where they cross, it’s genuinely easy to use. This guide covers the Chennai Metro routes, the main stations, timings, fares and how to use it to reach the airport and the busiest parts of town.
Chennai Metro routes: Blue Line and Green Line
The Chennai Metro network currently runs on two lines. The Blue Line (Line 1) runs from Wimco Nagar in the north down through Chennai Central, Egmore, Nungambakkam, Guindy and Alandur, all the way to Chennai International Airport. It’s the line most visitors end up using, since it links the airport with the city centre and the main shopping and business districts in one straight run. The Green Line (Line 2) runs from Chennai Central through Government Estate, Nehru Park and Little Mount to St Thomas Mount, with an extension towards Poonamallee opening in stages as work continues. Alandur is the key interchange station where the two lines meet, so if you need to switch from one line to the other, that’s where you get off and cross to the other platform.
Chennai Metro map and main stations
A few stations are worth knowing if you’re new to the city. Chennai Central is the main railway station and a hub for both lines, useful if you’re arriving by train and heading onward. Egmore sits next to Egmore railway station, handy for trains heading south. Nungambakkam and Thousand Lights put you close to the shopping stretch along Anna Salai and Pondy Bazaar. Guindy is near Guindy National Park and a cluster of IT offices, and Alandur, as mentioned, is where you change lines. Airport is the final stop on the Blue Line, sitting directly under the terminal. Maps are displayed at every station entrance and inside each carriage, and the free Chennai Metro Rail app has a route planner if you’d rather check your journey before you set off.
Chennai Metro timings
Trains generally start running at around 5am, with the last service leaving close to 11pm, though the exact first and last trains vary slightly by station and day, so it’s worth checking the app if you’re travelling very early or late. During peak hours, roughly 8am to 10.30am and 5.30pm to 8.30pm, trains run every 5 to 8 minutes. Outside those windows they run every 10 to 15 minutes, and Sundays tend to have a slightly reduced frequency, so build in a bit of buffer time if you’re catching a flight on a Sunday morning.
Chennai Metro fares: tokens and the travel card
Fares are distance based, starting at around Rs 10 for the shortest hops and rising to about Rs 60 to Rs 70 for a full end to end journey, such as Wimco Nagar to the airport. You can buy a single journey token from the ticket counter or the automatic vending machines at every station, tap it on entry, and drop it into the slot at the exit gate on the way out. If you’ll be using the metro more than once or twice during your stay, it’s worth picking up the Chennai Metro travel card, a rechargeable smart card that you simply tap on the reader at both ends of your journey. You can top it up at any station counter, and it saves you queuing for tokens each time, while working out marginally cheaper than paying per journey.
Using Chennai Metro to reach the airport
This is where the Chennai Metro earns its keep for visitors. The Airport station sits right below the terminal building, so you can walk from arrivals straight down to the platform without needing a shuttle. A journey on the Blue Line from Chennai Central or Egmore to the airport takes around 40 to 45 minutes, and it’s by far the most reliable way to make a flight when the roads are jammed, since trains aren’t affected by traffic. It also costs a fraction of what a taxi would charge, so if you’re travelling light, it’s worth using the metro for at least one leg of your airport journey.
Tips for a smooth ride
- Blue Line: Wimco Nagar to Chennai Airport, via Chennai Central, Egmore and Alandur
- Green Line: Chennai Central to St Thomas Mount, via Nehru Park and Little Mount
- Interchange station: Alandur
- First train around 5am, last train around 11pm
- Fares roughly Rs 10 to Rs 70 depending on distance
- Bags go through a security scanner at every station entrance, so allow a few extra minutes
- Coaches at each end of the train are reserved for women, with dedicated seats for senior citizens and differently abled passengers
Once you’ve got the two lines straight in your head, the Chennai Metro makes exploring Chennai a lot less stressful. It doesn’t reach every corner of the city yet, since the network is still expanding, but for the airport run, the main railway stations and the busiest shopping districts, it’s hard to beat, and it’s the one form of transport in Chennai that traffic simply can’t touch.