[2] It serves as the principal railway station of the temple city of Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu.

The station code can be retraced to a time as early as the 1860s when a 3 ft 6in wide gauge line was laid between Arakkonam and Kanchipuram (then known as Conjeevaram – thus CJ) by Indian Tramway Company.

Kanchipuram railway station is located at the entrance to the town on the Western banks of the Ponneri Eri.

Situated about 2.6 kilometres from the entry arch of Kanchipuram on the Chennai–Bangalore highway, it is in close proximity to the Kanchi Sri Ekambareswarar Temple and the nearest airport from here is the Chennai International Airport, located at a distance of 72 km from the station.

Kanchipuram railway station is one of the stations in the Chennai Suburban Railway on the Chennai Beach–Tambaram—Chengalpattu–kanchipuram–Tirumalpur–Arakkonam route (South-West line) now fully electrified and commissioning as a circular route with two circular service as electric multiple unit running in each direction.