Friday, September 13, 2019

Pongal train tickets hit waitlist in a jiffy

Air Fares Too Skyrocket As Travellers Target Nine-Day Break In Jan 3rd Week

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:13.09.2019

Sleeper class tickets for Pongal holidays were sold out and reservation status touched waitlist on six trains to southern destinations in less than three hours after bookings opened on Thursday for travel on January 10.

Sleeper class tickets touched waitlist on six trains – Nellai Express, Kanyakumari Express, Rockfort Express, Pearl City Express, Ananthapuri Express and Cheran Express by 11am on Thursday. Reservation for travel on January 11, 12 and 13 will start in the following days.

The Railways is expected to witness maximum bookings for travel on Monday, January 13.

Pongal festival starts on Tuesday, January 14. As January 13 will be the only working day ahead of Pongal in the third week of January 2020, several people have booked tickets on trains and flights to travel on Friday, January 10.

Those who can avail of a leave on January 13 get to enjoy a nine-day break.

There is a suggestion from different quarters that the state government should declare January 13 too a holiday so that people can travel during the festival. An official said that traffic to the southern towns is usually high for festivals like Diwali and Pongal.

Due to the heavy rush in trains, air fares have skyrocketed.

One-way fare for travel on January 10 and 11 on the Chennai-Madurai route is in the range of ₹4,300 to ₹4,800, on the Chennai-Tuticorin route it’s ₹3,200 to ₹4,100, Chennai-Trichy ₹4,300 to ₹4,800, and Chennai-Coimbatore it’s in the range of ₹3,100 to ₹4,000. The fares are likely to rise further, sources said.

Anand Menon of FCM Travel Solutions said, “This time around, Pongal is coinciding with a long weekend. The large workforce and young professionals typically head out for a refreshing weekend break – be it for adventure, spending some family time or a spiritual retreat. Most travellers book in advance as such festive holidays are largely driven by availability of an array of weekend getaways and curated experiences.”

He added, “With travel becoming more frequent than just taking one or two annual leaves, travellers prefer to explore domestic destinations like the Andamans, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Goa. International destinations with easy visa facilities have seen a rise in demand.Popular destinations include Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Malaysia, Bali, Thailand, Mauritius and Vietnam. Given these shorthaul trips are planned in advance, the fluctuation of the US currency has minimal impact.”

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