CHENNAI : The Southern Railway has interchanged the time slots of the Kovai and Shatabdi Express trains at the Coimbatore junction from August 15. The move is aimed at reducing the travel time of both trains and improve punctuality. According to the revised time-table, the Coimbatore Shatabdi will leave Coimbatore at 3.05pm, instead of 3.20pm and arrive at Chennai Central at 10.15pm. The Kovai Express will depart at 3.20pm, instead of 2.55pm and will reach Chennai Central at 10.55pm.
So far, Shatabdi Express overtakes Kovai Exp between Gudiyatham and Katpadi. When Shatabdi Express gets delayed, Kovai Exp is detained en route, resulting in the latter suffering a delay of 20 to 30 minutes. The change of time slot will reduce travel time of Shatabdi by 15 minutes. The Shatabdi covers 496 km between Chennai and Coimbatore, within 7 hours and 10 minutes, at an average speed of 67. The travel time of Kovai Express is fixed at 7 hours and 35 minutes.