Thiruvananthapuram: People have started to make travel plans in advance for Christmas as there are only a few seats available in trains for travel from Thiruvananthapuram on Dec 23. More bookings are expected in the coming days as reservations will open for travel for the year-end holidays. There is demand for tickets to Ernakulam, Kozhikode, Kannur, Bengaluru, Chennai and other cities as school holidays too start around the same time.
Tickets to Kozhikode are on the wait list on some of the popular trains that leave after 3pm, while only a few more seats are available for booking on trains to Bengaluru and Chennai. The sleeper class, AC III tier, and AC III tier economy are on the wait list for Veraval Express that leaves at 3.45pm, while there are only four seats available on AC II tier.
The tickets are getting booked on other trains on the route, including Malabar Express, Ernad Express, Netravathi Express, and Maveli Express, so that people can reach Ernakulam and Kozhikode the same night or early next morning. Plenty of tickets are available in the two Vande Bharat trains, which are expensive. Reservation has already been closed for travel to Ernakulam on Maveli Express and Chennai Superfast Express due to high demand as the trains reach the destination at a convenient time.
There are fewer seats available on other trains like the Amritha Express that reaches Ernakulam a little past midnight. Though seats are available on trains to Chennai and Bengaluru, a good number of tickets have already been booked. The rest of the seats, around 500-200 in different trains, are likely to be booked in the coming days, said an official.
A similar scene is observed for travel to other towns and also for travelling from metros to Thiruvananthapuram because many families will be coming home for the holidays. The tickets are getting booked due to festival travel as Onam and Christmas are traditional holidays when schools too are closed, but Railways often operate special trains closer to the departure dates, said S K Jayakumar, Railway Passengers Association state committee general secretary. A railway official said that more special trains are planned for Onam, Sabarimala, and Christmas seasons.
There is more opportunity to increase the number of trains this time because Thiruvananthapuram division has managed to increase the speed of trains by 20% by taking a series of steps, he added. We also published the following articles recently Express train splits in UP, 8 coaches left behind A Dhanbad-bound Express train unexpectedly split into two near Seohara in Bijnor, leaving eight coaches stranded. Passengers, including 150 aspiring UP police constables, were affected.
Railway officials attributed the incident to a 'technical glitch.' Government buses were arranged promptly to help passengers reach their destinations. The train resumed its journey after reconnection.
Railways to run special trains from Mumbai to Ayodhya The Central Railway decided to run two special train services between Mumbai and Ayodhya on public demand. The 01019 special departed from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus on August 29, while the 01020 special departed from Ayodhya Cantt on August 31. The trains had halts at key stations like Kanpur, Jhansi, and Bhopal.
Rail block on Western Railway suburban may lead to few train cancellations To facilitate maintenance work, a 5-hour rail block was implemented between Borivali and Goregaon stations from 10am to 3pm. During this period, all slow line trains were rerouted to the fast line, resulting in the cancellation of some suburban services. Information on the affected trains was provided by station masters.
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