Onam special trains: Kerala passengers face date, route mismatch despite extra services

Thiruvananthapuram: Railways has announced additional special trains ahead of Onam, but passengers travelling to Kerala say many services do not match the dates, routes and coach preferences most needed during the festival rush.

Railways has announced more than 100 special train trips for the Onam season, but only a small portion are scheduled on dates that passengers consider convenient for reaching Kerala before the festival.

Several services are scheduled a week or two before Onam, on the festival day or shortly afterwards, reducing their usefulness for people planning to travel home for the celebrations.

Passengers travelling from Chennai, Bengaluru and other cities have also raised concerns about the concentration of services towards south Kerala, particularly Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram, while fewer options are available for Malabar destinations.

Demand peaks before and after Onam

Passengers say the biggest requirement is for trains travelling towards Kerala between August 20 and 25, followed by return services from August 27 onwards.

Frequent travellers have also pointed out that people visiting their hometowns for Onam generally stay for several days, making trains scheduled on the festival day less useful for those hoping to reach home in time for celebrations.

Bus and air fares can also be considerably higher during the peak festive period, leaving passengers dependent on railway services.

Coach composition adds to concerns

Passengers have raised concerns about the composition of some special trains.

A Chennai-Mangaluru service has six sleeper-class coaches along with more AC accommodation, despite strong demand for sleeper berths on the route.

Another special service to Kollam is made up of AC Three-Tier Economy coaches without sleeper or general coaches.

Passengers say the mismatch between demand and coach availability could make some of the additional services less accessible.

New Chennai-Kollam and Chennai-Mangaluru services

Southern Railway has announced two special services between Chennai Central and Kollam and another between Chennai Egmore and Mangaluru.

Train No. 06119 will operate from Chennai Central on August 12, 19 and 26 and September 2. It will depart at 3.10 pm and reach Kollam at 7.20 am the following day. The service will have 16 AC Three-Tier Economy coaches.

Train No. 06117 will operate from Chennai Central on August 13, 15, 20, 22, 27 and 29 and September 3 and 5. It will depart at 11.50 pm and reach Kollam at 4.20 pm the following day. The train will include First AC-cum-Second AC, Second AC, AC Three-Tier and sleeper-class coaches.

Train No. 06125 between Chennai Egmore and Mangaluru will operate on August 18 and 25 and September 1. It will have six sleeper coaches, eight AC Three-Tier coaches, one Second AC coach and four general coaches.

Malabar passengers raise regional disparity concerns

The availability of special trains for north Kerala has also become a political issue.

Kozhikode MP M.K. Raghavan met Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on August 12 and sought intervention over what he described as a shortage of Onam special services for Malabar.

Raghavan highlighted an alleged regional imbalance in the special trains announced by Southern Railway, saying more than 80% of the services were focused on south Kerala while relatively few were allocated to Malabar.

The issue highlights the difference between the number of special train trips announced and their practical usefulness to passengers.

Running additional services can help reduce pressure on regular trains, but their effectiveness depends on whether they operate when demand is highest, serve the destinations passengers need and provide sufficient sleeper and general accommodation.

Railway officials also face operational constraints, including rake availability, terminal capacity, track availability and congestion. These limitations can affect when and where additional trains can be scheduled.

With Onam travel demand expected to rise sharply, passengers who cannot secure suitable train tickets may have to consider more expensive buses or flights, while some late-announced services could become alternatives as regular tickets sell out.