Railway announces daily specials from Chennai to TVPM and Mangaluru from Sep 27

Chennai: The Southern Railway on Thursday announced two daily special trains to Thiruvananthapuram and Mangaluru from here, days after resumption of intra-state services in Tamil Nadu.

Following the Railway Board's approval, it announced running one superfast special each to the two cities from September 27 and all COVID-19 safety guidelines, including wearing of masks shall be followed as mandated by the Union Home Ministry, it said.

The fully reserved special trains will be introduced daily, from Chennai from Sunday while the return services from Thiruvananthapuram and Mangaluru will start from September 28, a Southern Railway release here said.

Train No. 02623 Dr MGR Chennai Central-Thiruvananthapuram Superfast Special will leave here at 19.45 hrs to reach the Kerala capital at 11.45 hrs the next day.

In the return direction, Train No 02624 will leave Thiruvananthapuram Central at 15.00 hrs and reach Dr MGR Chennai Central at 07.40 hrs the next day, it said.

Similarly, the Mangaluru-bound Train No 02601 will leave Dr MGR Chennai Central at 20.10 hrs and reach its destination at 12.10 hrs the next day.

In the return direction, Train No 02602 will leave Mangalore Central at 13.30 hrs to reach Dr MGR Chennai Central at 05.35 hrs the next day, the release added.

"All passengers shall be compulsorily screened and only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to enter/board the train," it said.

All passengers should wear face covers/masks at the entry and during travel and reach the station at least 90 minutes in advance to facilitate thermal screening at the station, it said adding no linen, blankets and curtains will be provided.

Earlier, the Southern Railway had introduced special trains in Tamil Nadu connecting Chennai to various cities including Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli and Madurai after the state government gave the green signal for resumption of inter-district train services from September 7.