Travel
information in Madurai
Air
There are a few flights daily to Madras. East West Airlines has a daily flight to Bombay via Thiruvananthapuram. The airport is six km south of the downtown.
The Indian Airlines Office is at the TVS Building, 7A West Velli St. Air India is opposite the railway station on West Veli St. East West Airlines is at Office 119, 1st Flr, W Perumal Maistry Rd.
Rail
Madurai Junction Railway Station is a 20-minutes walk west of the Meenakshi temple on West Veli Street and just a few minutes from the main hotel area. There are trains to Madras, Rameswaram, Kanniyakumari, Tirupati (Madurai-Tirupati Exp.) Tiruchirappalli, and Bangalore (Muduri-Bangalore Exp.) The Rameswaram-Madras Exp goes to Madras and stops at Thanjavour, Chidambaram, and Chengalpattu on the way. The Madurai-Quilon Express goes direct to Thiruvananthapuram, arriving the next morning.
The Vaigai Express from Egmore Station in Madras takes 9 hours to get to Madurai stopping at Tiruchirappalli (Trichy) on the way. To Rameswaram there are three trains a day that take 5 of 6 hours. It is quicker to go by bus, which only takes 4 ½ hours. The Tirupati-Ramesvaram Exp is the quickest train to Rameswaram. There are no direct trains to Delhi or Bombay from Madurai.
To get a tourist quota ticket you have to go to the Rail Tourist Information Counter in the main lobby. With a member of their staff you can jump to the front of the long queue (line) upstairs. The tourist quota reservation office on the ground floor is very helpful. They take you inside the office and arrange your ticket in a hassle free atmosphere. They can also arrange tickets that depart from other cities from here, and they will gladly help you do this. This is a good place to arrange your train tickets. Upper Class booking is to the right
Bus
There is good bus service from Maduri to all parts of the South. There are four bus stands in Maduri. Most long-distance buses leave from the State Bus Stand (Periyar Bus Stand) and the Thiruvalluvar Bus Stand (TTC stand), which are both at the southern end of West Veli Street, not far from the railway station and the most of the accommodations. From here there are buses to Madras (11 hr, 20 daily), Banaglore (9 hr, 20 daily), Tirupati (14 hr, 5 daily), Mysore (1 daily), Pondicherrry (8 hr), and Mangalore. There are hourly buses to Madras and 12 super-deluxe buses go there daily.
You can book seats in advance for the Thiruvalluvar buses at the main bus stand or the relief stand across the street.
Buses to Thanjavur (6 hr), Kumbakonam, Rameswaram (4 hr), and Tiruchirappalli (3 hr) leave from the Anna Bus Stand, 5 km northeast of the temple and north of the Vaigai River. The No 3 bus from the Anna Bus Stand takes you to the State Bus Stand. From the Arapalayam Bus Stand buses depart to some destinations within Tamil Nadu and some places in Kerala. There are many buses to Coimbatore. There are nine buses a day to Kodaikanal from the Arapalayam Bus Stand.
The Palankanathan Bus Stand, in the southwest part of the city, 5 km from the center of town, serves cities in South Tamil Nadu and South Kerala, such as Kanniyakumari and Thiruvananthapuram.
You can book super-deluxe video buses to Madras and Bangalore from private bus companies. They may also try to sell you a ticket to other destinations promising a super-deluxe bus and instead they will sell you a ticket on a state bus for double the normal price. This is a normal thing that the travel agents in Madurai do. Be careful of hustlers at the bus stands. They may help you get a bus ticket at an inflated price.
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