THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: To clear the extra rush of passengers during the Attukal Pongala festival days, Southern Railways will run special trains between Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram on March 6 and 7.
On March 6, the special train will leave Kollam at 12.15 pm and arrive at Thiruvananthapuram at 2.35 pm and on March 7, it will leave Kollam at 4 am and arrive in the city at 6 am, said a press release issued by the Railways here on Wednesday.
On March 7, the day of Pongala, the special train will leave Thiruvananthapuram at 3.30 pm. The special trains will have stops at all stations on the Thiruvananthapuram- Kollam route.
Apart from this, on March 6, trains like Mangalore- Thiruvananthapuram Parasuram Express, Lokamanya Tilak- Thiruvananthapuram Express and Hyderabad - Thiruvananthapuram Express will have stops at all stations, except Pettah, Veli, Kaniyapuram, Perumkuzhi, Akathumuri, Edava and Iravipuram.
On the day of the Pongala, the Palakkad -Thiruvananthapuram Amritha Express,
Mangalore- Thiruvananthapuram Maveli Express, Thiruvananthapuram - Bangalore Express and Chennai-Thiruvananthapuram and Thiruvananthapuram- Chennai Super Fast trains will stop at all stations except Pettah, Veli, Kaniyapuram, Perumkuzhi, Akathumuri, Edava and Iravipuram between Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram.
Thiruvananthapuram - Ernakulam Vanchinad Express, Thiruvananthapuram - Mangalore Malabar Express, Thiruvananthapuram - Ernakulam Intercity Express and Thiruvananthapuram - Mangalore Maveli Express will stop at all stations on the Thiruvananthapuram -Kollam route.
Thiruvananthapuram - Chennai Egmore Ananthapuri Express will stop at all stations between Thiruvananthapuram and Nagercoil Junction.
Madurai-Kollam Fast Passenger will stop at Dhanuvachapuram, Amaravila, Balaramapuram and Nemom.
There will be additional coaches for the trains running between Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram and Nagercoil and Thiruvananthapuram on March 6 and 7, said the release.
Special Ticketing
Arrangements
Three booking counters will be operated at the main entrance of Thiruvananthapuram Central station and one on Attukal Temple premises.
Short-distance passengers travelling on the day of the Pongala are requested to avail tickets from the originating station for return journey also to avoid rush at Thiruvananthapuram Central station.
There will be additional staff at the information centres at both the main and second entry of the station.
As the entire track at Thiruvananthapuram station is electrified, devotees who come to offer Pongala should be cautious. In an emergency, the public can contact the RPF special control room at 0471-2115224 or 9995040000.
KSRTC’s Additional Services
T’Puram: The KSRTC will operate additional services to deal with the heavy rush of passengers on the eve of Attukal Pongala. Buses will ply between East Fort and Attukal from 4.20 am onwards till night. At present, there are 19 buses operating services on the Attukal-East Fort and Attukal- Thampanoor- East Fort route. Additional services to rural areas have also started, said a press release here on Wednesday.
Station Master Office at Attukal
A station master office has started functioning on the temple parking ground. Transport Minister V S Sivakumar inaugurated the office. “KSRTC will operate additional services during the Pongala days according to the need,” said V S Sivakumar. The public can access information regarding the service of buses at these numbers: 9446592999 (Station Master Office, Attukal); 9446572999 (Attukal special service station master office, East Fort); 0471-2463799, 9447071021 (control room, head office).