Southern Railway’s July maintenance block: Full list of cancelled, diverted and delayed trains

The revised schedule affects trains connecting Chennai, Nagercoil, Kanniyakumari, Hyderabad, Howrah, Mumbai, Bikaner and Tatanagar. Railway officials said the temporary changes are necessary to facilitate engineering works that are expected to improve the safety and reliability of train operations on busy sections of the Southern Railway network.

Railway maintenance works explained

A Fixed Time Corridor Block is a planned maintenance window during which train operations are modified to allow uninterrupted engineering work on tracks, signalling systems and other railway infrastructure. By scheduling these works in advance, Indian Railways aims to minimise unexpected disruptions while improving long-term operational safety.

Passengers travelling through the Madurai and Salem divisions during July and early August have been advised to check the latest train schedules before commencing their journey.

Antyodaya Express services to see partial cancellations

Among the major changes, Train No. 20691 Tambaram-Nagercoil Antyodaya Superfast Express, scheduled to depart Tambaram at 10.40 pm on July 29, will be partially cancelled between Vanchi Maniyachchi and Nagercoil. The train will terminate at Vanchi Maniyachchi instead of proceeding to Nagercoil.

Similarly, Train No. 20692 Nagercoil-Tambaram Antyodaya Superfast Express, scheduled to leave Nagercoil at 3.50 pm on July 30, will remain partially cancelled between Nagercoil and Tirunelveli. The service will originate from Tirunelveli at its scheduled departure time of 5.10 pm.

Several long-distance trains diverted on notified dates

Southern Railway has also announced diversions for several important long-distance trains operating through the Madurai Division.

Train No. 16352 Nagercoil-Lokmanya Tilak Express, departing on July 9, 12, 16, 19, 23, 26 and 30, as well as August 2 and 6, will run via Madurai, Manamadurai, Karaikkudi and Tiruchchirappalli, skipping Dindigul. Additional stoppages will be provided at Manamadurai, Sivaganga, Karaikkudi and Pudukkottai.

Train No. 17070 Kanniyakumari-Hyderabad Express, scheduled on July 10, 17, 24 and 31, and August 7, will also operate through the same diverted route, skipping Kodaikanal Road and Dindigul while receiving additional halts at Manamadurai, Sivaganga, Karaikkudi and Pudukkottai.

Train No. 12666 Kanniyakumari-Howrah Superfast Express, departing on July 11, 18 and 25, and August 1, will similarly be diverted via Madurai, Manamadurai, Karaikkudi and Tiruchchirappalli, bypassing Kodaikanal Road and Dindigul.

Train No. 16128 Guruvayur-Chennai Egmore Express, operating between July 3 and August 6 except on July 14, 21 and 28 and August 4, will be diverted via Virudunagar, Manamadurai, Karaikkudi and Tiruchchirappalli. The train will skip Madurai, Sholavandan, Kodaikanal Road, Dindigul and Manapparai, while making additional stops at Aruppukkottai, Manamadurai, Sivaganga, Karaikkudi and Pudukkottai.

Train No. 22631 Madurai-Bikaner Anuvrat Superfast Express, departing on July 16 and 23, will also run through the diverted route via Manamadurai, Karaikkudi and Tiruchchirappalli, skipping Kodaikanal Road and Dindigul.

Engineering work in Salem Division to delay one express train

Apart from cancellations and diversions, Southern Railway has announced regulation of Train No. 18190 Ernakulam Junction-Tatanagar Express due to engineering work in the Salem Division.

The train, scheduled to depart Ernakulam Junction on 8, 11, 13, 15, 18, 20, 22, 25, 27 and 29, as well as August 1 and 3, will be delayed by around 50 minutes en route.

The maintenance programme is part of Southern Railway’s ongoing effort to improve track conditions and operational safety across key rail corridors. Passengers travelling during the notified dates have been advised to verify train timings and route changes through official railway channels before starting their journey.