Chord Line, Tamil Nadu
The Chord Line connects and in Tamil Nadu. It is the shortest route connecting and Trichy. This rail route is 40 km shorter than the main line. History. Until 1927, and were only connected by Main line that traversed through Kumbakonam and Mayavaram, which was . Hence, the need for shorter route arose and construction began on 22 August 1927 for a new railway line via in phases. Initially, the stretch between and Virudhachalam were completed and opened on 1 December 1927, the Srirangam - stretch on 22 August 1927, Bikshandarkoil - Srirangam stretch on 12 December 1927 and  the entire stretch began its operations since 1 February 1929. This line gradually reduced the Madras - Colombo journey by around four hours. Gauge conversions. The conversion from metre gauge to broad gauge was effected during 1992-93 and completed during September 1998. Electrification. This stretch was proposed for electrification phase by phase by CORE. The electrification was completed during 2010. Operations. Passenger services. The line experiences a heaviest traffic handling about 30 passenger and 56 express trains passing through every day in addition to goods train, particularly during night. Despite the fact that multiple south Tamil Nadu bound trains pass  via chord line, there are no 'A' grade stations in the chord line between Trichy and Villupuram. Freight services. The line has a number of Industrial establishments which utilises their nearby railway stations for their logistics and transports such as Central Workshop (Golden Rock), Cement and gypsum factories at Trichy, Perambalur and Ariyalur, and the Sugar factories at Villupuram and Vridhachalam,