Southern Railway has announced the temporary augmentation of coaches on five train services to cater to the anticipated rise in passenger demand during the August-September travel period, according to official press release.
The additional coaches will be attached to select trains operating between Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh on different dates through September 30.
The move will benefit passengers travelling on the Nagercoil–Coimbatore Superfast Express, Rameswaram–Tirupati Express, Rameswaram–Kanniyakumari Superfast Express, and two pairs of Dr MGR Chennai Central–Tirupati Saptagiri Express services.
Sleeper and AC coaches to boost capacity on long-distance trains
Among the services receiving additional capacity, Train No. 22667/22668 Nagercoil–Coimbatore–Nagercoil Superfast Express will be temporarily augmented with one Sleeper Class coach. The additional coach will be attached on departures from Nagercoil from August 1 to September 29 and Coimbatore from July 31 to September 28.
Following the augmentation, the train will comprise 1 AC First Class-cum-AC Two Tier coach, 1 AC Two Tier coach, 2 AC Three Tier coaches, 14 Sleeper Class coaches, 4 General Second Class coaches, 1 Divyangjan-friendly Second Class coach and 1 Luggage-cum-Brake Van.
Similarly, Train No. 16780/16779 Rameswaram–Tirupati–Rameswaram Express will be provided with one additional AC Three Tier coach. The augmentation will be effective on departures from Rameswaram between August 2 and September 29 and Tirupati between August 3 and September 30.
After augmentation, the train will run with 4 AC Three Tier coaches, 8 Sleeper Class coaches, 4 General Second Class coaches, 1 Divyangjan-friendly Second Class coach and 1 Luggage-cum-Brake Van.
Southern Railway has also decided to attach one AC Three Tier coach to Train No. 22621/22622 Rameswaram–Kanniyakumari–Rameswaram Superfast Express. The additional coach will be available on departures from Rameswaram between August 1 and September 28 and Kanniyakumari between August 2 and September 29.
The revised composition of the train will include 4 AC Three Tier coaches, 8 Sleeper Class coaches, 4 General Second Class coaches, 1 Divyangjan-friendly Second Class coach and 1 Luggage-cum-Brake Van.
Extra Chair Car coaches for Chennai–Tirupati Saptagiri Express
Passengers travelling on the Chennai-Tirupati corridor will also benefit from additional seating capacity, with both pairs of Saptagiri Express trains receiving extra Chair Car coaches.
Train No. 16053/16054 Dr MGR Chennai Central–Tirupati–Dr MGR Chennai Central Saptagiri Express will be temporarily augmented with one additional Chair Car coach on departures from both terminals between August 1 and September 30.
Following the augmentation, the train will consist of 1 AC Chair Car coach, 11 Chair Car coaches, 4 General Second Class coaches, 1 Divyangjan-friendly Second Class coach and 1 Luggage-cum-Brake Van.
Southern Railway has also announced the augmentation of Train No. 16057/16058 Dr MGR Chennai Central–Tirupati–Dr MGR Chennai Central Saptagiri Express with one additional Chair Car coach from August 1 to September 30.
The press release also mentions a revised composition for this train. However, the listed composition appears to differ from the announced Chair Car augmentation and may require clarification from Southern Railway before implementation.
According to Southern Railway, the temporary coach augmentation has been planned to provide additional accommodation and improve passenger convenience during the period of increased travel demand.