The state of Tamil Nadu, the country’s sixth most populous state boasts of state of the art transport and communication facilities. Chennai, the state’s capital is an urban metropolis with a significant populace. Other noted districts like Madurai, Trichy, Coimbatore are also well-developed industrial centers with a sizable population.
The state has an extensive road network that links the state to all major industrial and agricultural centers as well as the suburbs. The state’s pride rests in its excellent arterial network 24 National Highways, almost spanning across a distance of 2,002 km. The state is also a part of the eminent Golden Quadrilateral Project, which is scheduled to completion in 2008. With a total road length of 167,000 km, this urban agglomerate also has some exceptional district roads connecting and integrating the different nooks and corners of the state.
A part of Southern Railway’s extensive rail network, with its headquarters housed at Chennai, Tamil Nadu covers a railway track length of 6,693 km with almost 690 railway stations. The state is well connected with all major cities of the country and has junctions in Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai and Tiruchirapalli. The urban metropolis of Chennai possesses an imminent metro rail network and the bustling Suburban Railway.
The Chennai International Airport that provides global connectivity with as many as 19 countries is another instance of Tamil Nadu’s excellent infrastructure. The airport has more than 169 flights scheduled every week. In addition the state also has domestic airports at Coimbatore, Trichy, Tuticorin and Madurai that facilitates intra-state travel as well as freight carriage.
Tamil Nadu has an elongated coastline that spans across a distance of 1000 km. As a natural corollary to this, the state has extensive sea trade and travel facilities. There are three major ports at Chennai, Ennore and Tuticorin, an intermediate port, Nagapattinam, and seven minor ports, Rameswaram, Kanyakumari, Cuddalore, Colachel, Karaikal, Pamban and Valinokkan that handle over 73 million metric tonnes of cargo annually.
Tamil Nadu with its excellent rail, road and air networks has made traveling an easy and highly feasible option. Tourists can sail across the voluminous oceans or soar along with the fleecy, gossamer clouds or merely take the conventional train ride and appreciate the quaint beauty of the picturesque South Indian villages and record a truly unforgettable vacation.
