The Indian Railways has announced that it will be running special trains to clear rush amid the ongoing Sabarimala Festival, starting December 15. The Southern Railways took to X, formerly Twitter, to announce the news and share the time table of the trains that will be operated to ease the rush.
The announcement said that the Railways will operate Vande Bharat Sabari special trains between Chennai Central and Kottayam. As per the post, Train No 06151 MGR Chennai Central-Kottayam Vande Bharat Special will leave MGR Chennai Central at 4: 30 am and reach Kottayam on the same day at 4:15 pm on December 15, 17, 22 and 24.
Similarly, Train No 06152 Kottayam-Dr MGR Chennai Central Vande Bharat Sabari Bi-weekly special train will depart Kottayam at 4:40 am and will reach Dr MGR Chennai Central on the same day at 5:15 pm. The train will run on December 16, 18, 23 and 25. The trains are scheduled to make stops at specified stations, which include Katpadi, Salem, Palakkad, and Aluva, throughout its journey.
An issue related to mismanagement erupted few days ago at Sabarimala hill shrine following sudden surge of pilgrims. Hence, Indian Railway came up with this initiative. The Mandalam-Makaravilakku season began on November 17 this year and is famously known to witness heavy rush during this time of the year. Opposition parties including the BJP and Congress charged at the Kerala government over management issues. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan defended the government's stance on December 13 and said that the situation at the Lord Ayyappa shrine in Sabarimala was under control.