Changes in timings of 108 trains and introduction of five express trains and three passenger trains are the highlights of the new time table of Southern Railway that will come into effect from Monday.
Although the timings, stoppages, and composition of the express and passenger trains, running through the State, announced in the last railway budget have featured in the railway time table, the date of introduction of the trains has not been announced by the zonal railways.
The express trains are the 22633/22634 Thiruvananthapuram - Hazrat Nizamuddin Super Fast expresses (weekly) via Mangalore Junction, Konkan Railway; 22114/22113 Kochuveli - Lokmanya Tilak Super Fast express (biweekly) via Konkan Railway, Mangalore Jn., Shoranur Jn. Ernakulam Town, Kottayam; 18567/18568 Visakhapatnam- Kollam expresses (weekly) via Vijayawada, Gudur, Renigunta, Arakkonam bypass, Jolarpettai, Coimbatore and Kottayam;
17235/17236 Bangalore City - Nagercoil expresses (daily) via Hosur, Dharmapuri, Salem, Namakkal, Karur, Madurai, Tirunelveli; and 16861/16862 Puducherry - Kanyakumari expresses (weekly) via Villupuram, Mayiladuthurai, Tiruchirappalli, Manamadurai, Virudunagar, Tirunelveli.
The fate of the newly announced passenger trains 56339/56340 Punalur-Kollam Passenger (daily), 56663/56664 Kozhikode- Thrissur Passenger (daily) and the 56367/56368 Guruvayur - Thrissur passenger (daily) is the same. The newly sanctioned 66307/66308 Ernakulam- Kollam passenger via Kottayam (six days a week).
The 66309/66310 Ernakulam- Kollam passenger via Alappuzha (six days a week) will not take off now.
The extension of the 12508/12507 Guwahati - Ernakulam expresses (weekly) to Thiruvananthapuram via Ernakulam Town, 12082/12081 Thiruvananthapuram- Kozhikode Jan Shatabdi expresses (five days) to Kannur.
56700/56701 Madurai- Kollam Passengers (daily) to Punalur, 6612/66611 Ernakulam -Thrissur MEMU (six days) to Palakkad, 66304 / 66305 Kollam - Nagercoil MEMU (six days) to Kanyakumari will be notified later, the pressnote informed.
The increase in frequency of the 12217/12218 Kochuveli - Chandigarh Kerala Sampark Kranti expresses from weekly to bi-weekly and that of the 56312 Tirunelveli- Nagercoil Passenger and the 56325/ 56312 Nagercoil- Kanyakumari passengers and the 56321 Kanyakumari – Tirunelveli passenger will be notified later.
The number of 16865/16866 Karaikkal- Ernakulam expresses 16187/16188 had been changed to 16187/16188 from September 1 and that of the 12997/12998 Tirunelveli- Happa expresses to 16187/16188 from November 1 this year.
From July 1, the frequency of the 16315/16316 Bangalore - Kochuveli express trains will be increased to six days a week.
With effect from September 4, the 16316 Kochuveli - Bangalore Express and with effect from September 5 the 16315 Bangalore- Kochuveli Express will run daily.
Consequently, 16322/16321 Thiruvananthapuram- Bangalore (weekly) expresses will be cancelled from September 4.
