CHENNAI: Tickets in four south-bound express trains, scheduled for departure five days before the forthcoming Deepavali festival on October 26, got over within 10 minutes of reservations opening on Saturday.According to railway officials, tickets in Pandiyan Express between Chennai Egmore and Madurai for October 21 exhausted hardly in two minutes of reservations commencing at 8 am. Similarly, tickets in Nellai Express (Chennai Egmore - Tirunelveli) and Chennai Egmore - Salem Express were booked in less than 10 minutes.However, the demand for other south-bound trains like the Rockfort Express, Ananthapuri Express and Kanniyakumari Express was relatively low when compared with the trends in the previous years.“It appears that a considerable number of people, who otherwise visit their home towns for celebrating the festival of lights have decided to stay in Chennai, as the festival fell in the middle of the week,” sources said. Lack of scope for continuous holidays in schools and offices have come in the way for those planning their trip during Deepavali this year, they added.Meanwhile, the Computerised Passenger Reservation System centres wore a deserted look with less number of people turning up for buying tickets. M S Mani, a native of Madurai, who commutes to the temple city from Chennai for every Deepavali, said he was surprised at the poor patronage at the counters.The Railway Protection Force personnel made necessary arrangements on Saturday to see that everything went smooth on the first day of ticket booking for the Deepavali season.
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