CHENNAI: Reservation for travelling in SETC buses for Pongal festival was launched on Friday. Besides, the railways has introduced seven special trains on high-demand routes to handle the festival rush. Commuters can book tickets at counters set up at Koyambedu bus terminus.
“Depending on the patronage, the number of services may be increased,” SETC Managing Director K Elangovan said. Passengers can also book tickets through - www. tnstc.in, www.edbus.in, www. paytm.com, www.busindia. com and TNSTC official mobile application.
Railways has also announced seven festival special trains. Particularly, a reserved special train will journey between Chennai and Mysuru in the Kaveri Express time slot from December 14. The other special routes include Chennai Central - Vijayawada, Chennai Central - Sathya Sai Prasanthi Nilayam, Tirunelveli - Bilaspur, Tirunelveli - Dadar, Mangalore Central - Lokmanya Tilak and Kochuveli - Mysore.
The special trains will be operated as daily and weekly till January 1 and then extended based on patronage. Advance reservation has opened in IRCTC portal. The general class coaches in the reserved specials will be operated as reserved coaches and second seating (2S) reservation charges will be collected, official sources said. The railways has appealed to all passengers to verify departure timings of special trains through the official railway website as time slots for several special trains have been changed.