Train reservations hint at exodus from Chennai on April 15

V.Ayyappan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:06.04.2020

Looks like hundreds stuck in Chennai will be heading home once the lockdown ends on April 15, as tickets on trains to southern towns and cities in the neighbouring states are sold out already.

Reservation status for sleeper class tickets on night trains to Madurai, Tuticorin, Bengaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbai and other cities has hit waitlist and RAC (reservation against cancellation), hinting at a major exodus soon after the lockdown is lifted.

Several people including students and families, who could not travel back home because of the Covid-19 scare and subsequent lockdown, are stuck in the city. “Sleeper class coaches are full. Berths available in AC coaches too may get sold in the coming days. There is a surge for travel on April 15. Then there is a dip for two days before bookings pick up for travel on Saturday and Sunday,” said a railway official.

Sleeper class reservation is at waitlist 28 in Chennai-Madurai Pandian Express for April 15, but is at RAC 2 for April 16. It then climbs to waitlist 52 for April 17, a Friday. However, tickets are available on Tejas Express and Duronto Express on the same route. Waitlists are also long for Bengaluru Mail, Tamil Nadu Express to Delhi and Mumbai Mail.

Rush on day train to Tuticorin that departs at 8.20am from Egmore is also expected to be high as the reservation status on Sunday was at waitlist 17.

“This must be because some of the tickets must have been booked much before the lockdown was announced,” he added. Though demand for tickets is usually high in April, not many travel outwards from Chennai a day after holiday. April 14 is a public holiday.

Railway officials also expect a huge outflow of guest workers soon after train services resume. There is a possibility to run special trains if the demand for unreserved class tickets shoot up on trains to Odisha, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.