As the operation of two passenger trains resumed after over two months at the Coimbatore Junction, the Coimbatore – Mayiladuthurai Janshatabdi special train saw more occupancy than the Coimbatore – Katpadi Intercity Superfast train on Monday.
Railway officials said that Train No. 02083 Coimbatore –Mayiladuturai Janshatabdi special train saw nearly 69 % occupancy while Train No. 02680 Coimbatore- Katpadi Intercity Superfast special train saw only around 25 % occupancy. The Janshatabdi special train left at 6.15 a.m from Platform No. 2, while the Intercity Superfast special train left at 7.10 a.m. from Platform No. 4.
Due to the low occupancy, the seating of the passengers was spaced in both the trains to maintain physical distancing. However, there were no specific directions on adherence to personal distancing inside these passenger trains, the officials clarified.
As part of the COVID-19 precautionary measures, all the passengers wore masks and were screened using thermal scanners by railway staff before boarding the trains.
The travelling ticket examiners also wore masks and gloves and checked the ticket details and other particulars of the passengers on the premises of the Coimbatore Railway Station.
Passengers were advised to arrive at the railway station 90 minutes before the departure of the trains to facilitate the screening procedure, the officials noted.
Southern Railway commenced the operation of four passenger special trains within Tamil Nadu from Monday, of which two originate from the Coimbatore Junction. While Janshatabdi special train will not run on Tuesdays, the Intercity Superfast special train will run on all days.
Salem
The Coimbatore – Katpadi train is the only special train operated via Salem and it reached Salem around 8.45 a.m. Passengers were screened at the entrance to the railway junction and their tickets, e-pass details were checked. Over 80 passengers boarded the train from the Salem Junction and Railway Protection Force and Government Railway Police personnel made arrangements for safe boarding.
However, the passengers were seen seated defying physical distancing norms in some of the coaches. A passenger travelling to Jolarpet said that there were difficulties in getting the e-passes and most of them were travelling without it. Even passengers from neighbouring districts like Erode travelled to Salem to board the trains.