Advance bookings open for Pongal special trains, tickets sold out in minutes

CHENNAI: As the Pongal holiday week approaches, the ticket booking for special trains was opened on Sunday at 8 am and was sold within minutes on the IRCTC portal.

Tickets for trains from Chennai to the southern districts of the state were in the highest demand. Trains to Tirunelveli, Nagercoil, Madurai, Salem and Tiruchy saw high passenger numbers.

The regular services for Pongal were also sold within a few minutes of opening. As of Saturday night, the Vande Bharat Express from Chennai Egmore to Nagercoil for January 10 is currently at WL 108 and for January 11 at WL 224.

The sleeper class in many special trains leapt over WL 100 for January 10 and 11. The ticket queue for Anantapuri Express operated between Chennai Egmore to Nagercoil on January 10 and 11, is at WL 398 and WL 395. Trivandrum Chennai Superfast Mail operated between Chennai Central and Trivandrum Central is at WL 249 on January 10 and WL 184 on January 11. Bookings for Kanyakumari Express and Nellai Superfast Express, which are operated between Chennai Egmore and Tirunelveli, are closed. However, there is a short relief for the passengers who opt for daytime trains, including Shatabdi to Bengaluru, as they have sufficient tickets.

“Every year, around three lakh people travel to their natives from Chennai during Pongal. As the State announced extended leave this year, we expect more passengers,” an SR official with the Chennai division said.