KOCHI: In a bid to meet the massive surge in passenger traffic during Onam, the Railways have launched an extensive fleet of special trains.
The Southern Railway, in close coordination with the neighbouring key Zonal Railways such as South Central Railway (SCR), South Western Railway (SWR) and South Eastern Railway (SER), has notified 112 exclusive Onam specials and extended the periodicity of key existing special train services.
The notified services are scheduled to operate primarily across the peak festive period spanning August 14 to September 6 to ease the seasonal rush, clear wait-listed passenger queues, and ensure smooth, convenient travel. According to a Southern Railway communique, the overall notified Onam special trip operations have nearly doubled (103%).
“The growth from 55 trips in 2025 to 112 notified trips in 2026 is driven largely by Southern Railway’s strategic planning and significant inter-railway collaboration with other Zonal Railways. The Onam special trains strategically connect major suburban and metropolitan origins with important terminals in Kerala via primary arterial routes,” said the railways.
Some of the prominent routes that will run are between Tamil Nadu hubs to Kerala. These services will connect prominent Tamil Nadu cities -- including Dr MGR Chennai Central, Tambaram, Chennai Egmore and Mangaluru Central, and run to primary Kerala destinations such as Kollam Junction and Thiruvananthapuram Central.
The trains traverse major enroute junctions and commercial towns, with halts at Arakkonam, Jolarpettai, Erode, Podanur, Palakkad, Thrissur, Ernakulam, Kottayam, Punalur, Sengottai, Rajapalayam, Virudhunagar, Madurai, Tiruchirappalli, Vriddhachalam, and Villupuram.
The Karnataka corridor of the South Western Railway will see Onam special services catering to high-density passenger movement into Kerala from major hubs including Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal Bengaluru, Bangalore Cantonment, Mysuru Junction, and Hubballi.
“Operating directly to primary terminals such as Thiruvananthapuram North, Kannur, Kottayam, and Kollam, these trains run along crucial intermediate stops including Krishnarajapuram, Bangarapet, Kuppam, Salem, Erode, Palakkad, Shoranur, and Kozhikode,” said the Railways.
Trains have been also pressed into service from the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Corridor to serve Keralites residing in the region.
“South Central Railway has notified special operations connecting origins like Hyderabad and Cherlapalli directly to key destinations including Kollam and Mangaluru Central.
This service corridor covers important en-route transit hubs across Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, stopping at Miryalaguda, Guntur, Tenali, Gudur, Renigunta, Chittoor, Katpadi, and Jolarpettai,” said the Railways.
WB to Kerala service
The South Eastern Railway has notified specials linking West Bengal and Eastern India to key destinations across Kerala along the Santragachi-T’Puram/Ernakulam primary route