TIRUCHY/CHENNAI: With Chennai, Chengalpattu and two other districts coming under a 12-day intense lockdown, the occupancy rate was very poor on the Chengalpattu-Tiruchy special train on Friday. Very few passengers arrived by the morning train.
“There was not much rush in most special trains running through Tiruchy. With the lockdown in Chennai, we are expecting a further drop in the number of passengers,” an official said.
However, it is clear Railways was expecting a drop in the number of passengers and changed the composition of the Chengalpattu-Tiruchchirappalli-Chengalpattu train (Train No. 06795/06796) on Thursday. The Chengalpattu - Tiruchchirappalli special train (via mainline) operated with 16 coaches as opposed to 23. Similarly, number of coaches in Tiruchchirappalli - Nagercoil -Tiruchchirappalli Superfast were reduced to 14 from 19, and will come into effect from Monday.
“Middle seats in reserved coaches are left vacant to ensure social distancing. Trains are running with less than 50 per cent occupancy, therefore the composition has been altered,” said a railway official. Meanwhile, the Railways denied reports that Chengalpattu-bound trains were terminated at Villuppuram, and that the station was not operating any trains.
“Two trains were operated from Chengalpattu to Tiruchy as per the schedule,” added the official.On the other hand, flight operations between Chennai and Tiruchy using 74-seater ATR aircraft have been getting a good response. The morning flight from Chennai with 54 passengers on board reached Tiruchy at 10.30 am and it departed with 44 passengers at 11.14 am.
Sources said that were sufficient passengers for the evening Chennai flight. The district administration is collecting swab samples of all passengers arriving at the airport. From Thursday onward, officials have been collecting details of Chengalpattu passengers arriving at Tiruchy railway station.