Zonal Railway User’s Consultative Committee (ZRUCC) Member K. Eswar has appealed to the Divisional Railway Manager Lalit Bohra to operate special trains from Visakhapatnam to Kollam and increase the frequency of train no. 18567 Visakhapatnam – Kollam weekly to a daily train for the convenience of Ayyappa devotees.
In a letter to the DRM on Thursday, Mr. Eswar said that thousands of devotees from Visakhapatnam, who take Ayyappa deeksha, visit the Sabarimala temple in Kerala annually. As per the IRCTC website, the berths, from Visakhapatnam to Kollam, on trains Vivek Express (22504) and Gurudev Express (12660), a ‘regret waitlist’ shows for the 60 days advance reservation, which starts on December 29, while the Visakhapatnam-Kollam, which runs on Thursdays, is showing ‘RAC’.
Mr. Eswar sought that train no. 18567 be made a daily and special trains should be operated to meet the tremendous demand for berths during the Ayyappa puja season, which concludes with Sankranti.
Published – October 30, 2025 07:59 pm IST
