| Box Width: | 25em |
| Chord Line | |
| Other Name: | Viluppuram - Trichy railway line |
| Native Name: | கார்டு லைன் |
| Native Name Lang: | ta |
| Type: | Regional rail Heavy rail Light rail |
| Status: | Operating |
| Locale: | Tamil Nadu |
| Start: | (VM) |
| End: | (TPJ) |
| Stations: | 29 |
| Routes: | 1 |
| Owner: | Indian Railways |
| Operator: | Southern Railway zone |
| Depot: | Golden Rock |
| Linelength: | 178km (111miles) |
| Tracks: | Double Line (Triple line between GOC and TPJ) |
| Load Gauge: | 4725x (BG)[1] |
| Routenumber: | 21/21A[2] |
| Electrification: | 25 kV AC 50 Hz |
| Speed: | 80km/h |
| Map State: | collapsed |
The Chord Line connects and, via in Tamil Nadu. It is the vital, shortest and busiest route connecting and Southern Tamil Nadu.
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.[3]
The conversion from metre gauge to broad gauge was effected during 1992-93 and completed during September 1998.[4]
This stretch was proposed for electrification phase by phase by CORE. The electrification was completed during 2010.[5]
The line experiences a heaviest traffic[6] handling about 30 passenger and 56 express trains passing through every day in addition to goods train, particularly during night.[7] [8] [9]
The line has a number of Industrial establishments[10] 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,[11] [12] [13] and the Sugar factories at Villupuram and Vridhachalam,[14]