Train commuters in Puducherry can expect another announcement in the railway budget to reach fruition on Saturday.
The Mangalore- Tiruchi Weekly Express will be extended to Puducherry from this weekend, as announced earlier this year.
Reservation today
The special inaugural run of the Mangalore- Puducherry train will be launched on September 28 and will be flagged off at Mahe by V. Narayanasamy, Minister of State, Prime Minister’s Office, said a release from the Tiruchi division of Southern Railways. Advance reservation for the special train will commence on Friday.
The inaugural special (train no. 06858) will leave Mangalore at 1.45 pm on Saturday and reach Tiruchi at 05.30 am on September 29. The train will arrive at Puducherry at 10.00 am the same day. The special train will comprise of First Class AC 2-tier, First class AC 3-tier, four sleeper class, six general second class and two second class cum luggage coaches.
The extension of the Mangalore- Tiruchi express to Puducherry follows close on the heels of the weekly Tirupati- Puducherry express that was launched by the Railway Minister last week.
Regular service will commence from Mangalore on September 29 and from Puducherry on October 5. The Puducherry Mangalore Weekly express (Train No. 16857) will leave Puducherry station on Saturdays at 4.35 pm and reach Tiruchy at 8.40 pm, Mahe at 6.06 am the next morning and Mangalore at 9.50 am. On its return, the Mangalore-Puducherry Weekly Express (16858) will leave Mangalore station at 4.50 pm on Sundays and reach Mahe at 7.40 pm, Tiruchi at 5.15 am on Monday and arrive at Puducherry station at 10 am the same day.
The train will stop at Kasargod, Kanhangad, Payyanur, Kannur, Thalassery, Mahe, Kozhikkode, Tirur, Shoranur, Palakkad, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Karur, Tiruchi, Srirangam, Ariyalur, Vriddhachalam and Villupuram.
