Travel and Local Information


Air Travel

Chennai International Airport, comprising Anna International terminal and Kamaraj Domestic terminal, serves as the major gateway to Southern India. It is connected to major airports in the world through more than 30 national and international carriers. It has all the free and paid facilities at par with the world class standards. Please visit here for the list of passenger airlines operating in Chennai and other details.

The airport is located 15km from the city center and the easiest way to reach your destination is to take a pre-paid taxi from the airport. You have to give the postal address of your destination and pay the taxi fare inside the terminal. Please note down some nearby landmark and directions to your destination to help the driver. We have provided these information for IMSc here and please contact your hotel for similar information.

Train Journey

Indian railways is one of the largest networks in the world and operated by the Government of India. It is divided into various zones and Chennai is the headquarters of the Southern zone. It is connected to all the major stations in India and here you will find out everything you need to know to use the Indian railways.

Participants who arrive at Chennai Central railway station could avail a pre-paid taxi or pre-paid autorickshaw service. But the cheapest way is to take a train at Park Town suburban station all the way to Indira Nagar suburban station, and then walk to IMSc.

To get to Park Town from Central, one exits Central station through the main entrance to GH Road. This is easily recognizable; there is a huge Government Hospital on the opposite side of the road. One takes a subway to cross the road, exiting the subway by the stairs on the right side. One keeps walking on the road in the same direction and takes a left turn at Bharati Salai. This road goes over the suburban train tracks. In about two minutes one encounters stairs going down to Park Town station on the left. Here is a map which tells the same story.

Road Transport

Tamilnadu is well connected by state roads and national highways. It has one of the most affordable public transport systems (TNSTC) which connects every town in Tamilnadu and linking the important cities/towns in the neighboring states. Several private players operate buses between important cities and it is easy to rent a car or taxi for a comfortable journey. Here is a list of call-taxi services in Chennai, with contact information.

Local Transport in Chennai

Chennai has a plenty of local buses which connect every corner of the city. It might be very crowded and might not be pleasant to use during the peak hours. But fortunately IMSc and the hotels suggested by us are near some suburban train stations. So it is convenient to take the train to visit some parts of the city. While there is a train once in ten minutes during the peak hours, during the middle of the day (about 10:30 am to 3:30 pm) there could be a gap of 20 minutes between successive trains. It is useful to consult the timetables for week days service and Sunday service.