Editing Chennai (section)

=== Rail ===
[[File:Southern Railway HQ.jpg|thumb|[[Southern Railway zone]] is headquartered in Chennai]]

The history of railway in Chennai began in 1832, when the first railway line in India was proposed between [[Chinnamalai|Little Mount]] and [[Chintadripet]] in the city which became operational in 1837.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2018/apr/16/chennai-the-track-record-1801999.html|title=Chennai: The track record|date=16 April 2018|newspaper=[[New Indian Express]]|access-date=9 August 2023}}</ref> The [[Madras Railway]] was established later in 1845 and the construction on the first main line between Madras and [[Arcot]] started in 1853, which became operational in 1856.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/on-the-forgotten-track/articleshow/99129882.cms?from=mdr|title=On Forgotten Road|date=31 March 2013|newspaper=[[Times of India]]|access-date=9 August 2023}}</ref> In 1944, all the railway companies operating in [[British India]] were taken over by the Government.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/financecode/ADMIN_FINANCE/AdminFinanceCh1_Data.htm|title=Evolution of Indian Railways-Historical Background|publisher=[[Ministry of Railways (India)|Ministry of Railways]]|access-date=1 December 2023}}</ref> In December 1950, the Central Advisory Committee for Railways approved the plan for Indian Railways into six zonal systems and the Southern Railway zone was created on 14 April 1951 by merging three state railways, namely, the [[Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway]], the [[South Indian Railway Company]], and the [[Mysore State Railway]] with Chennai as the [[Southern Railway headquarters, Chennai|headquarters]].<ref name="SR">{{cite web|url=https://sr.indianrailways.gov.in/view_section.jsp?lang=0&id=0,1|title=Southern Railways, about us|publisher=[[Southern Railway zone]]|access-date=12 August 2023}}</ref> The city has four major railway terminals at [[Chennai Central railway station|Chennai Central]], [[Chennai Egmore railway station|Egmore]], [[Chennai Beach railway station|Beach]] and [[Tambaram railway station|Tambaram]].<ref>{{cite report|type=pdf|url=https://sr.indianrailways.gov.in/cris//uploads/files/1659695525713-SR.pdf|title=Southern Railway stations|publisher=Indian Railways|access-date=12 August 2023}}</ref> Chennai Central, city's largest station provides access to other major stations nationally and is amongst the busiest stations in the country.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Central-station-to-shut-down-on-December-13/articleshow/5290066.cms|title=Central station to shut down on December 13|newspaper=[[Times of India]]|access-date=28 December 2012|date=2 December 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160928014443/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Central-station-to-shut-down-on-December-13/articleshow/5290066.cms|archive-date=28 September 2016}}</ref>

;Suburban and MRTS
[[File:Velachery_Railway_station_June_2010.jpg|thumb|[[Chennai Mass Rapid Transit System|Chennai MRTS]] was the first MRTS system in India]]
{{Main|Chennai Suburban Railway}}
{{Main|Chennai Mass Rapid Transit System}}

Chennai has a well-established suburban railway network operated by Southern railway, which was established in 1928.<ref name="CSR">{{cite report|title=Brief History of the Division|publisher=[[Indian Railways]]|url=http://www.sr.indianrailways.gov.in/uploads/files/1325745996774-about.pdf|access-date=26 October 2012}}</ref> The [[Mass Rapid Transit System (Chennai)|Mass Rapid Transit System]] (MRTS) is an elevated urban mass transit system established in 1995 operating on a single line from [[Chennai Beach railway station|Chennai Beach]] to [[Velachery railway station|Velachery]].<ref name="CSR"/>
{| class="sortable wikitable" style="text-align:left;" style="font-size: 100%"
|-
!System
!Lines
!Stations
!Length
!Opened
|-
| [[Chennai Suburban Railway|Chennai Suburban]]<ref>{{cite report|url=https://sr.indianrailways.gov.in/cris//uploads/files/1623903361519-CHENNAI%20DIVISION%20-%20CATEGORY-2021.pdf|title=List of Stations, Chennai|lang=en|publisher=Southern Railway|access-date=23 August 2023}}</ref> 
| 3
| [[Railway stations in Chennai|53]]
| {{cvt|212|km|mi|abbr=on|adj=on}}
| 1928
|-
| [[Chennai Mass Rapid Transit System|Chennai MRTS]]<ref name="MRTS">{{cite web|url=https://www.cmdachennai.gov.in/mrts_phase1.html|title=About MRTS|publisher=Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority|access-date=31 August 2023|language=en}}</ref>
| 1
| [[Chennai Mass Rapid Transit System|17]]
| {{cvt|19.715|km|mi|abbr=on|adj=on}}
| 1995
|}

;Metro
[[File:Alstom Metropolis train-set at Guindy Metro station in Chennai.jpg|thumb|[[Chennai Metro]] is the only metro system operational in the state]]
{{Main|Chennai Metro}}

[[Chennai Metro]] is a [[rapid transit]] rail system in Chennai that was opened in 2015. As of 2023, the metro system consists of two operational lines operating across {{cvt|54.1|km|mi|abbr=on|adj=on}} with [[List of Chennai Metro stations|41]] stations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wcag.chennaimetrorail.org/project-status/|title=Project status of Chennai Metro|date=19 November 2015 |publisher=[[Chennai Metro Rail Limited]]|access-date=31 August 2023}}</ref> The Chennai metro system is being expanded with a proposed addition of three more lines and an extension of {{cvt|116.1|km}}.<ref>{{cite news|title=Metro's second phase to go up to Poonamallee|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=20 July 2017|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/metros-second-phase-to-go-up-to-poonamallee/article19310471.ece|access-date=1 October 2017}}</ref>

{| class="sortable wikitable" style="font-size: 100%"
|-
!Line
!colspan="2"|Terminal
!Opened
!Length<br />(km)
!Stations
|-
| style="background:#{{rail color|Chennai Metro|Blue}}; text-align: center;| [[Blue Line (Chennai Metro)|<span style="color:white;">Blue Line</span>]]
| style="text-align:center;"|[[Wimco Nagar Depot metro station|Wimco Nagar]]
| style="text-align:center;"|[[Chennai International Airport metro station|Chennai Airport]]
| style="text-align:center;"|21 September 2016
| style="text-align:center;"|32.65
| style="text-align:center;"|26
|-
| style="background:#{{rail color|Chennai Metro|Green}}; text-align: center;| [[Green Line (Chennai Metro)|<span style="color:white;">Green Line</span>]]
| style="text-align:center;"|[[Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central metro station|Chennai Central]]
| style="text-align:center;"|[[St. Thomas Mount (Chennai Suburban Railway)|St. Thomas Mount]]
| style="text-align:center;"|29 June 2015
| style="text-align:center;"|22
| style="text-align:center;"|17
|-
!Total
! colspan="3"|
!54.65
!41
|}