The air-conditioned EMU (sub-urban) train service on the Chennai Beach-Tambaram-Chengalpattu section has witnessed a consistent increase in ridership since its launch in April 2025 with growing popularity among office-goers, professionals, diplomats, teachers and students.
The average daily ridership in April was 1,488 passengers, and this grew to 2,571 in May and to 2,800 (till date) in June, the release said.
Eight AC EMU services are being operated, comprising two services each between Chennai Beach - Chengalpattu and Chengalpattu - Chennai Beach, two services between Chennai Beach and Tambaram and two services between Tambaram and Chengalpattu. Based on positive commuter feedback and growing demand, Chennai Division revised train timings to better suit passenger needs and introduced additional services, the release said.
Fares for AC EMUs are marginally higher (₹5-₹10) than non-AC First Class EMUs. Further AC EMU fare is same as Chennai Metro Rail fares for the 12-15 km distance slab and is same as AC Bus fare for 26-40 km slab.
Patronage for the AC EMU service is expected to grow further with the upcoming Phase II extension of the St. Thomas Mount–Velachery MRTS and its integration with CMRL under a unified multimodal transport framework, the release said.