CHENNAI: The high cost Suvidha special trains between Chennai and Tirunelveli will soon be a thing of the past. Within a month after increasing the frequency of Chennai - Nagercoil weekly express into tri-weekly and introducing the regular daily express train between Tambaram and Kollam, the mechanical wing of Southern Railway has sanctioned approval for introducing a new overnight weekly train between Tambaram and Tirunelveli.
The move is expected to decongest Chennai - Tirunelveli route on weekends thereby putting an end to Suvidha trains. The existing infrastructure facilities which were so far used for Suvidha trains at Tirunelveli have been earmarked for the proposed weekly train, according to official documents.
Presently, Nellai and Kanniyakumari daily expresses operated in Chennai - Tirunelveli section are overcrowded. Particularly, during festival seasons, the railways operates the highest number of special trains between Chennai and Tirunelveli as the route has a huge passenger demand.
Aiming at utilising the idling rolling stock effectively, Madurai division has proposed a new overnight weekly train between Tambaram and Tirunelveli. The Tirunelveli - Dadar weekly express rake is to be used for operating the train.
The proposal which has been approved by the Indian Railway Time Table Committee (IRTTC) two months ago, recently received the nod from the mechanical department of railways. The LHB rake will undergo primary maintenance at Tirunelveli.
According to documents, the proposed weekly express will leave Tirunelveli at 6pm on Sundays and reach Tambaram at 8.20am the next day. In the return journey, the train will leave Tambaram on Mondays at 5pm and reach Tirunelveli at 8.30am the next day.
Taking advantage of huge passenger demand the railways has been operating Suvidha trains whose fare gets increased as the tickets get sold. It costs somewhere between Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,000 from Tiruneveli to Chennai in 3rd AC class in Suvidha trains.
According to official records, Chennai division operated over 1,500 special trains a year in the past three years, registering the ticket revenue growth up to 10 per cent. A senior official said the new train is likely to get introduced after the elections.