Train services to be disrupted in Madurai, Tiruchy and Thiruvananthapuram divisions on August

CHENNAI: Passengers travelling across Tamil Nadu this August are set to face widespread disruptions in train services as Southern Railway carries out engineering works in multiple divisions.

There will be diversions, partial cancellations and rescheduling, which will impact routes in the Madurai, Tiruchy and Thiruvananthapuram divisions.

Erode–Sengottai Express will be cut short at Dindigul from August 27-30, with its return service starting from Dindigul between August 28 and 31. Tiruchchirappalli–Rameswaram Express will operate only up to Manamadurai on August 11-14, 18-21, 25, 26, and 28. Its return service will also begin from Manamadurai at 4.55 pm on these days.

Several express trains will be diverted away from their usual route via Madurai and Dindigul, instead taking a longer path through Tiruchy, Karaikudi, Manamadurai, and Virudhunagar. These include services connecting Mayiladuthurai, Sengottai, Tirunelveli, Howrah, Hyderabad and Chennai. The diversions will be in place on select days throughout August.

To ease the inconvenience, additional halts will be provided at stations like Aruppukkottai, Manamadurai, Sivaganga, Karaikudi and Pudukkottai, depending on the revised route.

Similarly, local passenger trains between Tambaram and Villupuram will run only up to Mundiyampakkam on August 9, 18, 23, 25 and 30. On these dates, the return service will also start from Mundiyampakkam, skipping the stretch to Villupuram. On August 20, Tiruchchirappalli–Chennai Egmore Express will depart nearly two hours later than usual, and the Cuddalore–Mysuru Express will also be delayed by nearly an hour.

In the Thiruvananthapuram division, Guruvayur–Chennai Egmore Express will run via Kottayam instead of its usual Alappuzha route on multiple days till August 19, skipping Ernakulam, Cherthala and Alappuzha. Extra stops will be provided at Kottayam and Chengannur.