In a bid to meet rising passenger demand, Southern Railway has augmented select trains with additional Chair Car and Sleeper Class coaches. The temporarily expanded trains will run over the weekend and connect multiple locations in Tamil Nadu.

The Southern Railway zone announced the move through an official social media post on X, mentioning that the additional coaches have been attached to six train services operating on key routes interlinking Chennai, Thanjavur, Mangaluru and Coimbatore. Passengers have been advised to take note of the revised coach composition before planning their journeys.

Shatabdi, Mangaluru and Uzhavan routes among beneficiaries

The augmentation includes the Chennai-Coimbatore Shatabdi Express pair, one of Southern Railway’s busiest intercity services. An extra Chair Car coach will offer additional seating capacity for passengers travelling between state capital and western Tamil Nadu.

ALSO READ

Meanwhile, passengers on the Chennai-Mangaluru corridor and the Chennai-Thanjavur Uzhavan Express services will benefit from additional Sleeper Class accommodation, helping ease pressure during the peak travel period.

Southern Railway said the extra coaches are being deployed on a temporary basis to meet increased travel demand and expand seat availability on the impacted services.

Six services get capacity boost as demands pick up

The temporary augmentation has been announced for a mix of premium and long-distance trains. Additional seating and sleeping accommodation have been provided on selected dates.

Here is the list of the trains that have been augmented:

1.     Train No. 12243 Dr MGR Chennai Central-Coimbatore Shatabdi Express: One additional Chair Car coach has been added from its journey starting on June 21, 2026.

2.     Train No. 12244 Coimbatore-Dr MGR Chennai Central Shatabdi Express: One additional Chair Car coach attached from its journey beginning from June 21, 2026.

3.     Train No.16159 Chennai Egmore-Mangaluru Central Express: One additional Sleeper Class coach from its journey that has started on June 19, 2026.

4.     Train No.16160 Mangaluru Central-Chennai Egmore Express: One additional Sleeper Class coach for its journey that will commence from June 21, 2026.

5.     Train No. 16865 Chennai Egmore-Thanjavur Uzhavan Express: One additional Sleeper Class coach for journeys that have started on June 19 and will continue on June 20, 2026.

6.     Train No.16866 Thanjavur-Chennai Egmore Uzhavan Express: One additional Sleeper Class coach for journeys that will start from June 20 and June 21, 2026.

ALSO READ

North Western Railway launches Jodhpur-Chennai Summer Special Trains

North Western Railway has announced special train service between Jodhpur and Chennai to meet the growing passenger demand during the summer travel season. The services will provide services under the Railways special train programme and are aimed at providing additional travel options on the busy route.

Advance reservation for the special trains starts today, June 20, 2026, at 8 am.

Southern Railway to revise timings of two trains from August 20

Meanwhile, Southern Railway has also announced revised timings for select stations on two train services-Train No-12602 Mangaluru Central-Dr MGR Chennai Central Superfast Mail and Train No 12672 Mettupalayam-Dr MGR Chennai Nilgiri Superfast Express.

The revised schedule will be implemented from August 20, 2026. Passengers travelling on these services are advised to check the updated timings before commencing their journey.