CHENNAI: For Pongal fest, the computerised passenger reservation centres in the Chennai division of Southern Railway will function for only one shift on Monday – 8 am to 2 pm – similar to Sunday pattern of working.
Sunday pattern of suburban train services will be maintained in Central-Arakkonam, Central-Gummidipoondi/Sullurpeta, Beach-Chengalpattu and MRTS sections, a press release said.
To clear the extra rush of passengers during Pongal, there are Vande Bharat specials between Egmore and Nagercoil. Train 06081 Egmore-Nagercoil will leave at 5 am today and tomorrow, and reach at 1.45 pm the same day. Train 06082 Nagercoil-Egmore will leave at 2.25 pm today and tomorrow, and reach Egmore at 11.25 pm the same day.
With 8 coaches, the trains will stop at Tambaram, Villupuram, Tiruchy, Dindigul, Madurai, Virudhunagar, Tirunelveli and Nagercoil. It will reach the destination in 8 hours and 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, the Chennai Metro Rail Ltd announced that it would operate as per Sunday time-table. During Pongal, the service interval will be 10 minutes between 5 and 12 pm. And, from 8 pm to 10 pm, trains will be operated at 10-minute interval.