Plea for operating summer special trains to Chennai

The need for special trains to Chennai is on the rise among passengers from Tuticorin, especially in summer.

Though various means of travel were available , railway had been the most preferable mode of journey for many, said D. John Moses, a regular rail passenger.

Many times, passengers tended to travel with their wait-listed tickets. Besides the overnight Pearl City express, Tuticorin had a day-time link train – Guruvayur Express – connecting Chennai via Vanchi Maniyachi. He said sitting all the way from Tuticorin in hot and sultry weather condition without berth facility was tedious. Hence, the railway authorities should at least provide a bogie with berth facilities, he said.

M. Piramanayagam, secretary, Tuticorin District Passengers’ Welfare Association, said while passengers in Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts had been enjoying their journey in special trains, passengers from Tuticorin had been neglected.

He said the passengers, who had already reserved their tickets to Chennai for May, were in the waiting list.

The association had represented to the authorities the need for introducing summer special trains from Tuticorin to Chennai, he added.

‘Sitting all the way from Tuticorin in sultry weather condition without berth facility was tedious’