After a gap of more than six months, direct passenger train services between the southern metropolises of Chennai and Bengaluru will begin from Wednesday. Train services between the two cities had been suspended in March as part of the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown.
As announced by Southern Railway on Monday, a double-decker fully reserved special daily train will operate between the capital cities of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka from October 21. The train will have eight AC chair car coaches, as well as two luggage-cum-brake vans.
As per the daily schedule, the special train will leave Dr MGR Chennai Central station at 7:25am and reach KSR Bengaluru station at 1:10pm. In the reverse direction, it will begin its journey at 2:30pm and reach its destination at 8:30pm.
From Chennai to Bengaluru, the train will be numbered 06075 while in the opposite direction, it will be numbered 06076. During the journey, it will stop at Arakkonam, Katpadi, Ambur, Vaniyambadi, Jolarpettai, Kuppam, Bangarapet, Krishnarajapuram and Bangalore Cant. There will be an additional stop in the journey from Bengaluru to Chennai, at Perambur.
Reservations for the train opened at 8am on Tuesday.
The commencement of the special daily train’s operations comes at a time India is opening further from the nationwide lockdown, with metro services across the country now operational, albeit not at full passenger capacity. Similarly, schools, cinema halls, religious places, malls etc. have also reopened with strict Covid-19 protocols in place.
Also, with festival season approaching, Indian Railways has announced 392 special trains, which will run from October 20 to November 30.
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are among the worst Covid-19 affected states in the country. While Karnataka is the third worst-hit with 776,901 cases, Tamil Nadu is next with 694,030 infections thus far, as per the two states’ respective coronavirus dashboards. The two capital cities, too, are among the worst-affected cities in India.
By Hindustan Times
Imgae: PTI
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