For a few years in between it did by pass madras and used to halt at perambur. It was only due to passenger demand who found it inconvenient, that chennai was again reinstated. There are quite a good number of passengers from ers,pgt,cbe bound for tata,rnc,vskp who prefer this train due to absence of any other options.Also this being a daily train is an advantage. But the fact is over the years by adding more and more stops, it has been degraded like anything.