Pondicherry Travel - Nearest Airport, Station and driving distances
How to reach
Road
Well connected. There are regular buses to Chennai (160 km), Bangalore (296 km), Tiruchirapalli (196 km), and Kanchipuram (113 km). Chidambaram and Mamallapuram are within two hours drive from Pondicheery.The best choice for getting to Pondy from Chennai (150 km) and Bangalore (320 km) is by taxi or bus. Buses depart from Chennai at the Tamil Nadu State Express Bus Stand (also known as the Thiruvalluvur Bus Stand) at Parry's Corner on a regular basis and take about four hours to reach Pondy's bus stand. If you have a choice of buses, the East Coast Road is more scenic than National Highway 45 through Tindivanam.
Bus from Chennai (4 hrs) and Mahabalipuram.
Rail
The nearest railway junction is Villupuram which is 36 km away and is connected to Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram . You also have the option of taking train from Bangalore to Cuddalore. Southern Railways operates here.The train system in Pondicherry is infrequent and slow. The narrow guage track is connected from Pondicherry to Villupuram (36 km) and which inturn connects it to Chennai
The nearest railway station is Concenient Villupuram (36 km). Villupuram is directly connected to Chennai (160 km) which in turn is a major metropolis connected to all the big cities in India.
Train from Villupuram (1 hr), which is on Chennai (2 ¼ hrs)-Trichy (2 ¾ hrs) line. There is a direct train from Chennai (5 hrs) but you arrive late in the evening.