Indian Railways announced 51 special trains to Kerala on Tuesday to handle the increased passenger demand during the upcoming Christmas and New Year holiday season. In a statement, the Southern Railway announced 17 special train services to various locations in Kerala for Christmas and New Year's. It is important to note that in addition to the Southern Railway, other zones have also announced special trains for travellers during the Christmas festivities, including the South Central Railway, South Western Railways, and East Coast Railway.
"Apart from the special trains notified by Southern Railway, other zonal railways have notified a total of 34 services to Kerala -- 22 special trains by South Central Railway, eight special trains by South Western Railway, and four special trains by East Coast Railway," it said.
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The statement said that a total of 51 special trains will be operated serving the state of Kerala during the Christmas/New Year season. These special trains will be operated during the period from December 22, 2022, to January 2, 2023.
Earlier in the day, Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor had criticised the Railway Ministry for not recognising the people's demand for more trains during the season and sought Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw's intervention in the matter.
"Keralites are shocked that @indianrailway__ have not announced any special trains for the annual Christmas/New Year rush this year. With such a large number of people living & working outside the state, this need has always been recognised! What happened, @AshwiniVaishnaw," Tharoor tweeted.
