Home › Blog › Kodaikanal by train
Getting there · Tamil Nadu
Kodaikanal Nearest Railway Station: Kodai Road, Palani or Dindigul, and the Bus Up
Kodaikanal has no railway. The station everyone names is Kodai Road, about 88 km away, but the fast day trains (Vaigai, Vande Bharat, Tejas) do not stop there, Palani is closer by road, and we found no reliable bus from Kodai Road station itself. Here is which station to use from Chennai, Bengaluru and Coimbatore, the fares and the buses up.
Photo: KARTY JazZ, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Text added by Trip Under.
Short answer
Kodaikanal has no railway station. The one usually named is Kodai Road (KQN), about 88 km away, where the overnight 12637 Pandian Express from Chennai Egmore arrives at 04:13 (about ₹320 Sleeper, ₹810 3A) and the 16236 from Bengaluru at 06:23 (about ₹285 Sleeper). But the fast day trains (Vaigai, Vande Bharat, Tejas) do not stop there: get off at Dindigul. And Palani is closer by road, about 58 km, with buses up every hour or two for about ₹60.
Kodaikanal is a hill town around a lake in the Palani hills. The railway stays at the foot of the hills, so the last part of any train trip is a bus or a taxi up a long ghat road.
How we worked it out. On 5 November 2026 we read the lowest fare per class on ConfirmTkt's route listings for travel on 6 November, checked on erail which trains actually stop at Kodai Road, and re-ran road distances with OpenStreetMap routing to the lake. Routing assumes clear roads; the ghat climb takes longer. Check IRCTC before you book. You book every piece yourself: Trip Under is not an agency.
Every railway station near Kodaikanal
| Station (code) | Distance to Kodaikanal by road | Drive (clear roads) | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palani (PLNI) | about 58 km | about 1 h 20 min | The closest; few trains, mostly from Coimbatore. Buses up about every 1–2 h. |
| Kodai Road (KQN) | about 88 km | about 2 h | The Pandian from Chennai and the 16236 from Bengaluru, overnight. |
| Dindigul Jn (DG) | about 98 km | about 2 h 5 min | Every train, incl. Vaigai, Vande Bharat and Tejas. Direct buses up. |
| Madurai Jn (MDU) | about 127 km | about 2 h 40 min | Many trains end here; 18 buses a day up. |
Buses from Kodai Road station? Wikipedia calls it a rail-to-bus transfer point, but we could not confirm any bus timetable from the station itself. The reliable buses up leave from the bus stands in Dindigul, Madurai and Palani. If your train arrives at Kodai Road at 04:13, plan on a taxi or a bus from Dindigul.
Kodaikanal train ticket price by class
Trains that stop at Kodai Road
| Train | Sleeper | 3A | 2A | From → to | Departs → arrives | Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12637 Pandian Express | ₹320 | ₹810 | ₹1,120 | Chennai Egmore → Kodai Road | 21:40 → 04:13 | Daily |
| 16127 Guruvayur Express | ₹280 | ₹735 | ₹1,040 | Tambaram → Kodai Road | 11:07 → 17:42 | Daily |
| 16236 Mysuru–Tuticorin Express | ₹285 | ₹750 | ₹1,055 | KSR Bengaluru → Kodai Road | 21:15 → 06:23 | Daily |
| 16339 Nagercoil Express | ₹695 | ₹1,790 | ₹2,565 | Mumbai LTT → Kodai Road | 20:55 → 02:56 (third day) | Tue, Wed, Thu, Sat |
Fast trains that skip Kodai Road: get off at Dindigul
| Train | Fares | From → Dindigul | Departs → arrives | Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12635 Vaigai Express | CC ₹645, 2S ₹190 | Chennai Egmore | 13:15 → 19:17 | Daily |
| 20627 Vande Bharat | CC ₹1,125, EC ₹2,125 | Chennai Egmore | 05:00 → 09:53 | Not Wednesday |
| 22671 Tejas Express | CC ₹1,000, EC ₹1,985 | Chennai Egmore | 06:00 → 10:53 | Not Thursday |
| 20665 Vande Bharat | CC ₹1,290, EC ₹2,320 | Chennai Egmore | 15:10 → 19:58 | Not Tuesday |
From Coimbatore there is no direct train to Kodai Road. Go to Palani instead: the 16765 leaves Coimbatore at 20:30 and reaches Palani at 22:38 (Sleeper about ₹150), and a Friday train runs in the afternoon.
For budgeting, Trip Under plans the overnight train and the bus up at about ₹850 per person each way (3A). Here is how it compares:
| Way in | Route | Time | Fare (per person, each way) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Train + bus | Bengaluru / Chennai → Kodai Road or Dindigul, then the bus up | 7–9 h + 2.5–3 h | ₹850 | Overnight 16236 from Bengaluru and the Pandian Express from Chennai stop at Kodai Road: 3A about ₹750–810, Sleeper about ₹285–320 (ConfirmTkt, 5 Nov 2026). We could not confirm buses from Kodai Road station itself; the reliable buses up leave Dindigul, Madurai and Palani. |
| Overnight bus | Bengaluru / Chennai → Kodaikanal | 10–12 h | ₹1,200 | Private operators nightly: from about ₹755 from Bengaluru and ₹1,599 from Chennai (ixigo, 6 Nov 2026; no state buses listed). |
| Flight + road | → Madurai (IXM), then 3 h 30 m | 1 h + 3 h 30 m | ₹7,500 | Madurai is the nearest airport. |
| From Munnar | Bus, changing at Theni and Batlagundu | 7 h | ₹400 | Two hill stations, two states, one long bus day. |
Infographic · two days in Kodaikanal, per person
Train and bus against the overnight bus
One person, return travel plus two days on the ground at Trip Under's Kodaikanal daily rates (₹1,000 shoestring, ₹1,700 mid-range).
The bus up the ghat
| From | Fare | Buses | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palani bus stand | about ₹60 | 11 a day, 04:00 to 18:00 | about 2 h |
| Madurai (Central / Arapalayam) | about ₹100–150 | 18 a day, 01:30 to 17:50 | about 3–3¼ h |
| Dindigul bus stand | not confirmed (about ₹100 in an undated blog) | direct buses, or change at Batlagundu | about 2.5 h |
An overnight bus straight to Kodaikanal is the other option: private buses from Bengaluru from about ₹755 and from Chennai from about ₹1,599 (ixigo, 6 November 2026). Our plan uses about ₹1,200. In town, taxis start at about ₹300 for the first 3 km (Wikivoyage, February 2026).
Two days, what it costs
Photo: రవిచంద్ర, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A dorm in town is about ₹550 a night and a homestay in Vattakanal about ₹1,200. Tamil veg meals are about ₹70. Two days by train and bus come to about ₹3,700 per person on a shoestring and ₹5,100 mid-range, return travel included.
When to go
Infographic · month by month
Kodaikanal month by month
Month-by-month as text
Jan: Good · Feb: Good · Mar: Good · Apr: Good · May: Passable · Jun: Passable · Jul: Passable · Aug: Good · Sep: Best · Oct: Best · Nov: Best · Dec: Best
September to March is the window — clear, cold at night, and green. April and May are busy with domestic holidaymakers; June to August brings heavy rain and landslips on the ghat road.
Frequently asked questions
What is the nearest railway station to Kodaikanal?
Kodaikanal has no railway. Palani (about 58 km by road) is the closest station, but has few trains. Kodai Road (about 88 km) is the usual answer, with overnight trains from Chennai and Bengaluru. Dindigul (about 98 km) has every train.
Does the Vaigai Express stop at Kodai Road?
No. On erail's schedule the Vaigai, the Chennai Vande Bharats, the Tejas and the Bengaluru–Madurai Vande Bharat do not stop at Kodai Road. Get off at Dindigul.
Is there a direct train from Chennai to Kodai Road?
Yes. The 12637 Pandian Express leaves Chennai Egmore at 21:40 and reaches Kodai Road at 04:13, about ₹320 Sleeper and ₹810 3A (lowest listed fares, 5 November 2026).
Is there a train from Bengaluru to Kodaikanal?
The 16236 leaves KSR Bengaluru at 21:15 and reaches Kodai Road at 06:23, about ₹285 Sleeper and ₹750 3A. Then go on by bus from Dindigul or by taxi.
Are there buses from Kodai Road station to Kodaikanal?
We could not confirm any. The reliable buses leave Dindigul, Madurai and Palani bus stands.
How much is the bus from Palani to Kodaikanal?
About ₹60, about two hours, with 11 buses a day (bus-timings listing, January 2026).
How much does a 2-day Kodaikanal trip cost by train?
About ₹3,700 per person on a shoestring and ₹5,100 mid-range, train and bus both ways included.
Sources and how we priced this
- Fares and times: ConfirmTkt route listings (Chennai, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Coimbatore to Kodai Road, Dindigul and Palani), read 5 November 2026 for travel on 6 November (Mumbai 7 November); stops checked on erail.in train schedules. Live fares: IRCTC; stops: NTES.
- Stations: OpenStreetMap; road distances: OSRM driving routes to Kodaikanal lake (10.24, 77.49), 5 November 2026. Ghat times: Wikivoyage Kodaikanal.
- Buses: coachbuildersindia bus timings (Palani and Madurai to Kodaikanal, updated January 2026); Wikivoyage (Dindigul buses, town taxis, February 2026); ixigo overnight buses, 6 November 2026.
- Stays, food and the season: Trip Under's Kodaikanal page. Budgets: our cost model.
Keep reading
Plan your own Kodaikanal trip
Set your dates, group and travel mode on the Kodaikanal page and see the train, bus, bed and food add up.
Open the Kodaikanal page →Costs come from Trip Under's place data and our cost model (see methodology). They are indicative ballparks for budget travel and move with season and demand. Check live bus, train and room prices before you book. Trip Under is reader-planned, not an agency, and takes no commission on any booking.