Chennai, April 22(BPNS)
With major railway stations in Tamil Nadu including Chennai, Trichy, Coimbatore ,Madurai and Jholarpet showing a slow but steady increase of guest workers, the Southern Railway has decided to operate more trains to North and North Eastern states.
M Kamalanathan, an officer with Southern Railway while speaking to BPNS said, “The guest workers are reaching major railway stations of Tamil Nadu and we cannot keep quiet. The Southern Railway will operate special trains to North and North Eastern states.”.
In addition to new trains ,the railways is also planning to augment the rush by adding more coaches to the existing trains. Railway officials said that this was normal process when the waiting list of reservation charts are full. With the guest workers booking almost all classes in trains to North Indian states as well as North Eastern states, Odisha and West Bengal, even tatkal tickets gets filled up immediately after the reservation opens.
Babumani Nadar, a booking clerk with Southern Railway while speaking to BPNS said, “Guest workers are standing in overnight queues to book tatkal tickets but once the counter opens at 10 am for AC tickets, the West Bengal bound train tickets gets filled up within 5 minutes of opening the counter. Same is the case with the second sleeper class tickets which open at 11 am for tatkal.”
Southern Railway does not want a major rush to take place if there are possibility of more movement of guest workers from Tamil Nadu and hence pressing into service more trains and more coaches in existing trains.
Mohammed Aslam, a tile worker in Nungambakkam Chennai and a resident of Midnapore in West Bengal while speaking to BPNS said,” I am returning home as I feel its better to be with our loved ones in home town rather than slogging it alone in an alien land.”
With the Covid cases mounting in Tamil Nadu and Chennai and other four adjoining districts accounting for more than 50% of these cases , the guest workers are in a mood to leave and the Railway’s does not want a major rush leading to a congestion in the stations and hence planning more trains.
