Chennai: The much-hyped Onam special trains announced by the Railways have turned into a damp squib, running nearly empty despite thousands of Keralites scrambling for tickets to reach home for the festival.
The train from Chennai Central to Thiruvananthapuram North, which departed at 12:45 pm yesterday, left with over 800 vacant seats. The service, routed via Katpadi, Salem, Namakkal, Karur, Madurai, and Kollam, would have been a lifeline for passengers headed to Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, and Pathanamthitta. However, the announcement about the train was made only late on Saturday night barely hours before its departure rendering it useless for most travelers.
Railway passengers allege that this reflects a long-standing indifference towards the Chennai Malayali community’s repeated demand for timely special trains during Onam. Had the service been announced at least a week in advance, the train would have run at full capacity, providing much-needed relief to the tens of thousands stuck on long waitlists for regular trains.
A similar scenario looms for the Villupuram-bound Onam special train, which departs Tambaram at 12:34 pm today. As of Saturday evening, over 500 seats were still unsold. The service halts at Egmore, Perambur, Palakkad, Shoranur, Tirur, Kozhikode, Kannur, and Kasaragod, covering Kerala’s northern districts. Despite being ideally suited for homebound travelers, the late-night notification has once again left the service underutilized.
Passengers have called the Railways’ move a “mockery of relief”, pointing out that the last-minute scheduling has not eased the travel crisis but instead added to the frustration. With Onam just days away, many Malayalis continue to struggle to secure tickets, while special trains run with rows of empty seats.