Inquiries revealed that the announcement extending the SFST service by two months, which came close on the heels of its inaugural run on September 7, had elated rail users, who had been demanding rail connectivity to the coastal towns in the Godavari Delta region in Andhra Pradesh from the Cauvery Delta region in Tamil Nadu.
A warm reception was accorded by rail users at Kumbakonam on September 8 morning when the new service (train number 06019), which was flagged off from Tuticorin at 11.30 p.m. on September 7, arrived there.
As per the schedule, the SFST service will commence its journey from Tuticorin on Monday night and reach Narasapur by 12.20 a.m. on Wednesday. In the return direction, the service (train number 06020) will leave Narasapur at 4 a.m. on Wednesday and reach Tuticorin by 4.30 a.m. on Thursday.
The service, after reaching Tiruchi from Tuticorin and Villupuram from Narasapur, will take the main line section and halt at Panruti, Thirupathiripuliyur, Chidambaram, Mayiladuthurai, Kumbakonam and Thanjavur.
Interestingly, advance reservations of seats/berths in Sleeper, AC three-tier and AC two-tier classes in the weekly service (train numbers 06019 and 06020) for main line section railway stations from and to Chennai Egmore on September 15 and 16 have reached the wait-list category, sources said.
The SFST service, which reaches Thanjavur at 6.28 a.m. on Tuesdays, arrives at Chennai Egmore by 1 p.m. the same day and proceeds to Narasapur. In the return direction, train number 06020 arrives at Chennai Egmore by 3 p.m. on Wednesdays and reaches Thanjavur by 9.18 p.m.
