Transport in Tirunelveli

Tirunelveli city being the district headquarters of Tirunelveli, in India, has an extensive transport network.

Transport

Roads

NH 7 at Nanguneri area in Tirunelveli district

Tirunelveli city is well-connected by roads. It is located on NH 7, 150 kilometres (93 mi) to the south of Madurai and 80 kilometres (50 mi) to the north of Kanyakumari. NH7A, an extension of NH7, connects Tirunelveli with Tuticorin. The road infrastructure is being expanded with an extensive 4 carriageway expansion and the NH7A stretch is almost in its final stage. Tirunelveli is accessible by road from Madurai (3 hours) or Nagercoil (1.5 hours). Tirunelveli is also connected by major highways to Kollam, Tiruchendur, Rajapalayam, Srivilliputtur, Sankarankovil, Ambasamudram and Nazareth. Two tier over bridge at Thirunelveli Junction known as Thiruvalluvar bridge is the first of its kind in India. This 800 meter bridge was constructed to avoid the railway line crossing and was opened for traffic in 1972. This bridge consists of 25 spans of which 13 are of bow string arch, each with a width of 30.30 metres (99.4 ft) and 12 are single tier R.C.C girder each having a width of 11.72 metres (38.5 ft)

Two tier bridge(Tiruvalluvar bridge), Tirunelveli

Bus Station

The main bus station was relocated from Palayamkottai to Veinthankulam at the outskirts of the city in 2003. A large network of interstate and intrastate buses ply to various destinations. There is a good co-existence of both private and public transport networks in the city round the clock. The Tirunelveli division of the TNSTC (Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation),services the district's road transport needs with a string of local and mofussil (out-of-town) services. The State Express Bus Corporation (SETC) operates express services to Chennai,^[1] Bengaluru, Salem, Coimbatore, Tirupur, Nagapattinam, Velankanni, Erode, Kumbakonam, Mayiladuthurai, Chidambaram, Cuddalore, Puducherry, Viluppuram and Tirupati. There are Omni Buses running to Bengaluru, Coimbatore and Chennai.

Railways

Tirunelveli Junction

The city is beautified by a majestic looking structure with a high elevated façade,^[2] is one of the busiest and most important stations in Tamil Nadu.^[3] It is connected to major cities in all four directions, Madurai to the North, Nagercoil to the South, Tenkasi to the West and Tiruchendur to the East.

Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur route is a broad-gauge network. A large engine maintenance and service station is under construction. At present, all engines and coaches with problems are being sent to Nagercoil for maintenance. This station is facilitated with computerized ticket booking and touchscreens to know the train schedule and status. A computerized ticket booking center at Palayamkottai is operational. There are four express trains starting from Tirunelveli - Nellai Express, Hapa Express, Bilaspur Express and Jammu Link Express.

The Tirunelveli railway station produces a substantial profit for the Madurai Railway division.^[4] The Nellai Express, — a super-fast train connecting Tirunelveli and Chennai-Egmore runs fully packed almost throughout the year.^[5] The station has six platforms . Tirunelveli Junction is coded as TEN. It is one of the oldest^[6] and most popular stations in Indian Railway.^[7]

Suburban stations:

Airport

There is no airport in Tirunelveli. The closest airport to Tirunelveli city is the Thoothukudi airport (TCR), located at Vaagaikulam, Thoothukkudi district, about 28 km east of Tirunelveli. Connections to Chennai and Bangalore are via Spice Jet, twice a day. The Madurai Airport and Thiruvananthapuram International Airport are about 150 km away by road.

References

1. ↑ Tirunelveli Chennai connectivity
2. ↑ Tirunelveli Junction Railway Station
3. ↑ Nellai Junction nets more revenue
4. ↑ Nellai Junction nets more revenue
5. ↑ Patronage of Nellai Express
6. ↑ Railway Map of India - 1893
7. ↑ List of Popular Railway stations in India