Four special trains will be operated from the Coimbatore Railway Junction here from September 7 (Monday).
According to the Southern Railway, three trains namely Train No. 02675/76 Superfast Intercity Special, Train No. 02679/80 Intercity Superfast Special and Train No. 02673/74 Superfast Express Special will be operated every day between Coimbatore Junction and Dr. M.G.R Chennai Central Junction. Train No. 02083/84 Janshatabdi Special will be operated between Coimbatore and Mayiladuthurai Junction on all days except Tuesdays.
Reservation for these special trains will begin from 8 a.m. on September 5 (Saturday).
Only those with confirmed tickets will be allowed to board the trains.
Railway officials said the premises of the Coimbatore Junction were disinfected on Friday as part of COVID-19 precautionary measures, ahead of the opening of the reservation counters on Saturday. Though most of the reservations will be done online, officials anticipate that many passengers would visit the railway station to book tickets.
“As the e-pass system has been removed now, many passengers might directly visit the railway station for booking their tickets," an official explained, adding that this was not the case when special train services were introduced in June when e-pass was mandatory. Adequate steps will be taken to prevent overcrowding at the counters, he said.
The rakes for all the special trains are stationed at the coaching depot behind the Coimbatore Railway Station as of Friday, except for Train No. 02673, which will arrive from Chennai. While routine maintenance work was being carried out regularly, cleaning of these rakes will begin on Sunday, officials said.
All passengers will have to arrive at the railway station at least 90 minutes before the departure time for the thermal screening process. Personnel from the Railway Protection Force and Government Railway Police will monitor the passengers to ensure wearing of masks and maintenance of personal distancing.
An automated thermal scanner, installed at the entrance of Coimbatore Railway Station, will be used for the screening. The no-contact thermal scanner also has an attached camera and will sound an alarm if the body temperature of any passenger is higher than normal, the officials said.
Special train from Mettupalayam
The Southern Railway on Friday announced another special train from Coimbatore district. Train No. 02671/72 Superfast Daily Special will start from Chennai on September 7 (Monday) and from Mettupalayam on September 8 (Tuesday). The train will leave Chennai at 9.05 p.m. on Monday and will arrive at Mettupalayam Junction at 6.15 a.m. Tuesday. In the return direction, the train will depart from Mettupalayam at 7.45 p.m. Tuesday and reach Chennai at 4.50 a.m. the next day.
