Pondicherry / Villupuram to Thanjavur and Trichy Trains

A little bit confused about trains running from Villupuram ( VM ) to either Thanjavur ( TJ ) or Trichy ( TJ ).

Books say you can but Indian Railways web site doesn't come up with anything .....

Any offers ?

Thanks

Hi I just answered this on "the other forum"
Try the Southern Railway site here

Southern Railways
For Trichy here is one option!!

Train number 6127

From CHENNAI EGMORE
(Dep. 07:00)
To GURUVAYUR
(Arr. 06:30)
Train Category Mail / Express
Days of operation Daily
Class of Accommodation SL,II,3A,2S
Fare Details:
Route Details between VILLUPURAM JN and TIRUCHCHIRAPPALLI JN

Code Station Name Arr/Dep
VM VILLUPURAM JN a 09:35
d 09:40
VRI VRIDDHACHALAM JN a 10:28
d 10:30
ALU ARIYALUR a 11:04
d 11:05
SRGM SRIRANGAM a 11:59
d 12:00
TPJ TIRUCHCHIRAPPALLI JN a 12:30
d 12:35

And for Thanjavur here is one option!!

Train Number 6801

From TIRUPATI
(Dep. 15:40)
To TIRUCHCHIRAPPALLI JN
(Arr. 06:05)
Train Category Mail / Express
Days of operation Daily
Class of Accommodation FC,SL,II
Fare Details:
Route Details between VILLUPURAM JN and THANJAVUR JN
Code Station Name Arr/Dep
VM VILLUPURAM JN a 23:20
d 23:30
PRT PANRUTI a
d
CUD TIRUPPADIRIPPULIYUR a 00:34
d 00:36
CUPJ CUDDALORE PORT JN a 00:50
d 00:52
CDM CHIDAMBARAM a 01:47
d 01:49
SY SIRKAZHI a 02:15
d 02:16
VDL VAITHISVARANKOIL a 02:24
d 02:25
MV MAYILADUTURAI JN a 02:50
d 02:55
KMU KUMBAKONAM a 03:30
d 03:32
TJ THANJAVUR JN a 04:20
d 04:25
There are other options so check the website for Southern Railways!!

Happy Travelling!!!

Thanks

Just got the post and dug out the stuff fro the SRW site... man, you have to scroll down a lot !

Looks like the Trichy option is the more sane travelling times..

Have you been to either ? Is Tanjore worth the detour on a 2 week trip ?

Trivandrum / Kovalam beach - Fly Madras - Bus Mahabs - Bus Pondi - Train Trichy - Train Trivandrum / Kovalam.

I want a little beach at either end..

Thanks

I havent been to either I'm afraid so can't really give you any advice there but I'm sure you'll get some feedback if you wait for a bit!!
Oh IMHO the beach at Pondy was way better than the beach at Mahaballipuram!!
Take the bus to the Auroville access road and just ask directions to the beach!!

IHMO ???

And do you mean "Access Rd" is in Pondi itself ?

Is it OK to sunbathe & swim or is that more of a Kovalam thing ?

IHMO - in my humble opinion.

Don’t bother using any metre gauge trains in that area this year, there is so much gauge conversion going on or ready to start soon, and it's difficult to get accurate information on start/completion dates.

Stick to Broad Gauge trains.

The acces road I'm talking about is about 6 Kms north of Pondy itself!! 3/4 ruppees on the bus!!
And yes sunbathing swimming is'nt a problem here the beach is very quiet!!

Is there any easy way of finding out which is broad and which is narrow ?

I know when went from Madurai to Trivandrum a couple of years ago I had to change at Kodai Rd ... Although the narrow was very cute..

Click here for a map with the different gauges shown.

Mettupalaiyam to Ooty is narrow gauge and in full working order. (Awesome scenery)

Boginayakkanur - Madurai Jn is running normally, (a good way to get to Mannur, only 60 km from Boginayakkanur)

Villupuram Jn - Pondicherry has just been converted to broad gauge and will soon have direct Chennai - Pondicherry trains. (I don't know when)

Dindigul Jn - Palghat/Podanur is working normally, though trains are busy on this section.

Dindigul Jn - Madurai Jn will be closed for broad gauge conversion soon, though I'm unsure of the actual dates.

Madurai Jn - Rameswaram is working normally.

I have no information about all the other metre gauge lines, though I believe there is more broad gage conversion work taking place at the moment.

Below is a useful train that will not be found on the Indian Railways website.

727…Daily…Madurai Jn…22:30, Trivandrum…06:10 (depart 06:35), Varkala…07:42, Quilon Jn (Kollam)…09:15.

728…Daily… Quilon Jn…18:00, Varkala…18:40, Trivandrum…20:20, Nagercoil...22:40, Madurai Jn…05:35.

FC = Rs 418, SL = Rs 110.

Stephen.. absolutely awesome map.. thanks so much..

A big help.

We should "do" a "curry" at the Strand one day.. Due to get the visa in the next couple of weeks..

First thing in the morning may not be the best rime... unless of course they do an Iddli breakfast....

The map was difficult, many layers were used on Photoshop, so long to choose the right colours, get the wording correct and in roughly the right place, many opinions were sought.........

Then I just scanned it from the Southern Railways timetable

I don't think they will mind as I'm promoting their services.

It would be good to meet you, though it would be better for all if you come along to the next meeting of the indiamike.com - London Branch.

I see from your website that you can take a picture, you and Iain would get along famously, as your photo's seem to be very similar.

Let me know when..

I'm always "up" for a karahi... Would be interested in Ian's photos too...

Sounds like there are some Germans keen too.. ( I AM actually technically German & speak it too... ) !!

London is so under resourced for things " Indian "..

Dates & let's do it !

no one is responding to "is Thanjavur worth it, so I will
yeah, it's "worth it"