After a break of over six months, the direct train service between Chennai and Bengaluru is set to resume operations from October 21. The fully reserved double-decker train will start running from Wednesday, and will go back and forth between Dr MGR Chennai Central railway station and KSR Bengaluru railway station.
Per a notification by Southern Railway, train number 06075 / 06076 Dr MGR Chennai Central – KSR Bengaluru – Dr MGR Chennai Central AC double-decker superfast daily special train will have eight air-conditioned chair car coaches as well as two luggage-cum-brake vans. It will leave Chennai at 7.25 am and reach Bengaluru at 1.10 pm. While returning, the time of departure from Bengaluru will be 2.30 am, and the train will arrive in Chennai at 8.30 am every day.
The train will have multiple stops, namely Arakkonam, Katpadi, Ambur, Vaniyambadi, Jolarpettai, Kuppam, Bangarapet, Krishnarajapuram and Bangalore Cant. The train returning from Bengaluru to Chennai will also stop at Perambur. Reservations for this train have been opened since 8 am on Tuesday, a release from Southern Railway said.
Additionally, Indian Railways has also announced that 392 special trains will be run for the festive season beginning October 20 till November 30. These trains will be to Kolkata, Patna, Varanasi and Lucknow, to name a few, due to the growing demand for transport during Durga Puja, Diwali, Dasara and Chhat Puja. These trains are in addition to the special trains that Indian Railways is running. In all, 666 mail and express trains are running across the country while the operations of the rest have been suspended due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. These special trains being run for festival season will carry a slightly higher charge and will be 10-30% costlier than the mail and express trains.
Railway Protection Force (RPF) has issued guidelines which include wearing masks and maintaining physical distance. The guidelines also make punishable showing up at the railway area or boarding a train despite being coronavirus positive.