Title - Train tickets for the Pongal season gone in ten minutes

Tickets for southbound trains got sold out in ten minutes flat as offline and online windows opened for travellers to make advance reservations for January 11, a couple of days before Pongal and Makara Sankranti festivals.Virtually every train to destinations within the State such as Madurai, Salem and Coimbatore as well as Kerala and Karnataka have run up huge waitlists.“All evening and night trains heading down south were fully booked in a matter of ten minutes,” a Southern Railway said.The waitlists are mountainous in the sleeper class for many trains such as the Trivandrum Express (a waitlist of 139) while no more bookings (Regret/WL) are allowed for trains such as Podhigai, Nellai, Pandian, Madurai, Cheran , Kanyakumari, Tiruchendur and Pearl City expresses. The Regret/WL status is also showing for Kerala-bound trains like Alleppey Express and Anantapuri Express.Seats are also waitlisted by various degrees on other classes of travel on these trains.The frenetic booking for Pongal-Sankranti season could continue for the next couple of days with the advance reservation period now extended to 120 days prior to planned departure, officials said. As a temporary measure to clear heavy waitlists, especially during the Puja holidays in October, Southern Railway has been attaching extra second class coaches.On Thursday, the Railways announced that an extra second class sitting coach would be attached for the train Chennai Egmore-Madurai Express from here from September 14 to October 28 and from September 15 to October 27 for the train departing from Madurai.