In good news for those wishing to visit their hometowns during Pongal festival, Southern Railways has announced additional trains to facilitate travel during the festive season.
Among these, a special train will run from Chennai Egmore to Tirunelveli, departing Egmore at 11:45pm on January 11 and arriving in Tirunelveli at 1am on January 12. The return train will leave Tirunelveli at 3:30pm on January 12, reaching Chennai Egmore at 2:40am on January 13.
The train will make stops at Mambalam, Tambaram, Chengalpattu, Tindivanam, Villupuram, Cuddalore, Chidambaram, Mayiladuthurai, Kumbakonam, Thanjavur, Trichy, Dindigul, Kodaikanal Road, Madurai, Virudhunagar, Sattur, and Kovilpatti railway stations.
Another special train will operate between Tambaram and Nagercoil. Departing Tambaram at 11:35pm on January 11, this train is scheduled to reach Nagercoil at 9:20am on January 12. The return journey from Nagercoil will begin at 12 noon on January 12, with the train arriving in Tambaram at 12:05am on January 13. This service will halt at Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Vriddhachalam, Trichy, Dindigul, Madurai, Virudhunagar, Sattur, Kovilpatti, and Tirunelveli.
Southern Railway will also run a special train from Chennai Central to Madurai, which will leave at 3pm on January 11 and reach Madurai at 5am on January 12. The return service will depart from Madurai at 7pm on January 12, arriving at Chennai Central at 9am on January 13. This train will stop at Tiruvallur, Arakkonam, Katpadi, Jolarpettai, Chamalpatti, Bommudi, Salem, Erode, Tiruppur, Coimbatore, Pollachi, Udumalaipettai, Palani, Dindigul, Ottanchathram, and Kodaikanal Road stations.
A special train from Chennai Egmore to Madurai will also depart at 10:45am on January 11, reaching Madurai at 7:15pm. The return train will leave Madurai at 8:30pm on January 11 and arrive in Egmore at 4:40am on January 12. Stops along the route include Tambaram, Chengalpattu, Melmaruvathur, Tindivanam, Villupuram, Vriddhachalam, Ariyalur, Srirangam, Trichy, Manapparai, Dindigul, and Kodaikanal Road.
Bookings for all these special trains will commence at 8am on Friday, January 10, 2025.
