Chennai Central (station code: MAS), is an NSG–1 category Indian railway station in Chennai railway division of Southern Railway zone. It is the main railway terminus in the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is the busiest railway station in South India and one of the most important hubs in the country. It is connected to Moore Market Complex railway station, Chennai Central metro station, Chennai Park railway station, and Chennai Park Town railway station. It is about 1.8 km (1.1 mi) from the Chennai Egmore railway station. The terminus connects the city to northern India, including Kolkata, Mumbai, and New Delhi, and different parts of India.

Southern Railway (SR) is one of the eighteen zones of Indian Railways. It is headquartered at Chennai and operates across the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and the union territory of Puducherry. The origin of the Southern Railway can be traced back to the Madras Railway formed in 1845. Southern Railway was created on 14 April 1951 by merging three state railways, namely, the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway, the South Indian Railway Company, and the Mysore State Railway. Southern Railway maintains about 5,081 km (3,157 mi) of railway lines and operates 727 railway stations.