NE NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI, SEP 3
The Southern Railway on Thursday night announced resumption of fully reserved special trains on select routes in Tamil Nadu from September 7, a day after the state government gave its green signal to connect the state capital with rest of Tamilnadu.
Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Wednesday lifted the five-month long COVID-19 lockdown-induced suspension of train services partially. The government has permitted only the railways to operate only within the state.
Following this, the Southern Railway has announced special trains, including superfast and express, to Coimbatore and Tiruchirappalli from Chennai Central and Egmore and said a slew of safety protocols will be followed and those with symptoms of COVID-19 would not be allowed to travel.
Chief Minister had on Wednesday allowed resumption of intra-state train services, besides inter- district bus transport from September 7.
Accordingly, the Southern Railway said special services would be operated between Chennai and Coimbatore, Coimbatore and Mayiladuthurai and Chennai and Tiruchirappalli. Trains will also be operated from the state capital to Madurai, Karaikkudi and Tuticorin, it said in a release.
“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, while they have to reach the stations at least 90 minutes in advance to facilitate thermal screening.
Social distancing has to be followed both at the station and in trains and all passengers are advised to download and use the Aarogya Setu mobile application, it said.
“No linen, blankets and curtains shall be provided inside the train. Passengers are advised to carry their own linen for the travel. The temperature inside AC coaches shall be suitably regulated for this purpose,” it added. Regular passenger and suburban train services were first cancelled from March 22 till March 31 in view of the pandemic and remained suspended.
Trains to operated from Chennai Central and Chennai Egmore Railway Stations:
