On the ground
- Access
- Nearest airport: Chennai International Airport (MAA), Chennai.; Nearest railway station: Chennai Central Railway Station (MAS).
MiscellaneousRailway museum
Chennai Rail Museum
Railway museum with steam engines, heritage coaches and working train models
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01 — The story
The story
Chennai Rail Museum opened in 2002 as the Regional Rail Museum, inaugurated by Nitish Kumar, then Railway Minister, and took its present name on 22 August 2016 to mark the 377th Madras Day. Spread over 6.25 acres, it traces the history of Indian Railways and the Integral Coach Factory through two galleries and outdoor exhibits, including vintage steam locomotives, old coaches, an 1895 Fowler steam ploughing engine and a coach once used by Mahatma Gandhi.
Indoors are around 41 train models, some of them working, along with century-old clocks, maps, posters and a Nilgiri Mountain Railway coach. Neal's ball token system, an early safety device for single lines, is explained, and restored photographs by Ian Manning hang in the ICF Diamond Jubilee Gallery. The site also has a 90-seat theatre, the Natyarangam amphitheatre and a restaurant inside a converted coach.
Unmapia
02 — About
About Chennai Rail Museum
Coming soon
We’re still writing about Chennai Rail Museum: its history, what’s there and why it’s worth the trip.
03 — Plan your visit
Plan your visit
Where it is
Chennai, Tamil Nadu
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01 — More in Chennai
