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Pongal, Christmas, New Year: SWR  festival special trains

The Festival Special trains will link various destinations in Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu, the SWR said.

Anticipating passenger rush ahead of year-end festivities, the South Western Railway (SWR) on Friday rolled out special trains connecting multiple cities in south India.

The decision on running special trains was taken keeping in mind the spike in rail travel ahead of Pongal, Christmas and New Year. The Festival Special trains will link various destinations in Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu, the SWR said.

In the initial phase, three trains will ply both ways on Mysuru-Kochuveli, Mysuru-MGR Chennai Central, and Sri Sathya Sai Prashanthi Nilayam (Puttaparthi) – MGR Chennai Central routes.
The train linking Kochuveli (Thiruvananthapuram) and Mysuru started its service on Friday and will continue plying on the up-line till December 31. As per the SWR schedule, Train 06316 will depart daily from Kochuveli at 4.45 pm and arrive in Mysuru at 11.20 am the day after. On the return line, the train will leave Mysuru at 12.50 pm and arrive in Kochuveli at 9.20 am the next day. On the return route, the train will ply from Saturday to January 1, 2021.

The train, with 22 coaches, will halt at Kollam, Kayankulam, Haripad, Ambalapuzha, Alappuzha, Chertala, Ernakulam Jn, Aluva, Thrisur, Palghat, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Tirupattur, Kuppam, Bangarapet, Whitefield, Krishnarajapuram, Bengaluru Cantonment, KSR Bengaluru, Kengeri, Ramanagaram and Mandya, in both directions.

Another daily train (06021) is scheduled to leave MGR Chennai Central from December 14 at 9.15 pm and arrive in Mysuru at 6.40 am the next day. It will stop at Tiruvallur, Arakkonam, Anvardikhanpet, Sholinghur, Walajah Road, Katpadi, Jolarpettai, Bangarapet, Whitefield, Krishnarajapuram, Bengaluru Cantonment, KSR Bengaluru, Kengeri, Bidadi, Ramanagaram, Channapatna, Mandya, and Pandavapura.
While service on the up-line will continue till December 31, the daily train on the return route will ply from December 15 to January 1, SWR officials said. As per the schedule, train 06022 will roll out from Mysuru at 9 pm and reach MGR Chennai Central at 6.40 am the day after. The halts include Pandavapura, Mandya, Channapatna, Ramanagaram, Kengeri, KSR Bengaluru, Bengaluru Cantonment, Krishnarajapuram, Whitefield, Kuppam, Jolarpettai, Katpadi, Walajah Road, Sholinghur, Anvardikhanpet, Arakkonam, Tiruvallur and Perambur.

The train between Chennai and Puttaparthi is scheduled to ply every week on both directions, on Fridays and Saturdays. Train 06073 will depart from MGR Chennai Central at 11.30 pm every Friday and reach Sri Sathya Sai Prashanthi Nilayam at 8.55 am the next day. The service will continue till December 25 and the train will halt at Arakkonam, Katpadi, Jolarpettai, Krishnarajapuram, Bengaluru Cantonment and KSR Bengaluru.

On the return route, Train 06074 will start from Sri Sathya Sai Prashanthi Nilayam at 6.25 pm every Saturday and reach MGR Chennai Central at 5.05 am the day after. The train, on the down-line, will ply on December 12, 19 and 26. It will halt at KSR Bengaluru, Bengaluru Cantonment, Krishnarajapuram, Whitefield, Jolarpettai, Katpadi, Arakkonam and Perambur railway stations.

“The fare of the above festival special trains will be 1.3 times the normal fare. All the trains will run only on a reservation basis,” SWR said in a statement. Officials urged passengers to follow all Covid norms laid down by the central government as well as the states concerned.