The century-old building of the railway station, designed by architect George Harding, is one of the most prominent landmarks in Chennai.

Ramachandran Central and Secunderabad Junction were awarded 183 points out of a maximum of 300 for cleanliness, the highest in the country.

[7] Madras Central was built in 1873 at Park Town around the slopes of Periamet, then known as Narimedu or Hog's Hill,[14] as a second terminus to decongest the Royapuram harbour station, which was being used for port movements.

Having fallen into disuse, the garden had become a gaming den, with cockfighting being the favourite sport at that time, until when the Trinity Chapel was built nearby in 1831 and the Railways moved into the area in the 1870s.

[15] The station gained prominence after the beach line was extended further south in the same year, and Royapuram was no longer a terminus for Madras.

[7] Capacity at the station was further augmented when the multi-storeyed Moore Market Complex was made a dedicated terminus with three separate platforms for the Chennai Suburban Railway system.

Built in the Gothic Revival style, the original station was designed by George Harding and consisted of four platforms[24][25] and a capacity to accommodate 12-coach trains.

[33][34][35] About 400,000 passengers use the terminus every day,[9] in addition to 20,000 visitors accompanying them to see-off or receive them,[21] generating a revenue of ₹6,590,214,293 (US$76 million) as of 2012–2013, making it the top revenue-generating station of the Southern Railway.

Often, express trains and EMU services that arrive at the Basin Bridge Junction in time have to be detained for non-availability of platforms at Chennai Central.

[36] Chennai Central railway station is a major transit point for shipment of inland and sea fish in South India through trains.

[38] The station has bookshops, restaurants, accommodation facilities, internet browsing centres, and a shopping mall.

[39] In spite of being the most important terminus of the region, the station lacks several facilities such as coach position display boards.

[49] In November 2012, a public interest writ petition was filed in the Madras High Court citing the lack of a full-fledged emergency medical care centre at the terminus.

[50] Further to this, the Southern Railway invited expression of interest from several hospitals in the city to establish a medical care centre.

The centre has three beds, two doctors on duty and another on standby, four nurses, a paramedic team, and a round-the-clock ambulance.

The cement-concrete-paved premium parking is located between the Moore Market reservation complex and the station's main building.

[77] The terminus is connected to the Park railway station and the Government General Hospital by two subways on either side.

[78] Nevertheless, jaywalking prevails as a substantial number of commuters prefer crossing the road,[79] at times resulting in accidents.

[86] On 29 April 2009, a suburban EMU train from Chennai Central Suburban terminal was hijacked by an unidentified man, who rammed it into a stationary goods train at the Vyasarpadi Jeeva railway station, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) northwest of Chennai Central.

[89] On 6 August 2012, a man hailing from Nepal perched atop the clock tower of the station's main building, creating a commotion.

[90][91] In April 2020, all trains were cancelled till 30 September, except Chennai Central - New Delhi Rajdhani Express due to COVID-19.

[94] In 2009, following the train accident at the Vyasarpadi Jeeva railway station, surveillance cameras were installed at the suburban terminus platforms.

A security boundary wall 200 m long was erected along platform 14 to check unauthorised persons entering the station.

[95] A government railway police (GRP) station is located on the first floor at the western end,[96] headed by a DSP and two inspectors.

[99] In April 2012, the GRP and the Railway Protection Force (RPF) together launched a helpline known as Kaakum karangal (literally meaning 'Protecting hands').

[105] The plan included creating multi-level platforms where express and suburban trains could arrive and depart from the same complex.

[107] It will be 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) long, linking the station with nine points, including Evening Bazaar, Government Medical College and Ripon Buildings on Poonamallee High Road.

[108] Chennai Central is among the 23 stations in the country that will be privatised as part of redevelopment under the BFOT (Build, Finance, Operate, Transfer) scheme.

More passengers amenities will be provided on a 1.545-acre plot of land adjacent to the Moore Market Suburban complex allotted for commercial exploitation.

[114] Chennai Central railway station is one of the most prominent landmarks in the city that is often featured in movies and other pop culture in the region.