Ayyappa Devotees Appeal for Special Trains to Sabarimala

With the arrival of the Karthika season, Ayyappa devotees across the combined districts have begun wearing the sacred mala and undertaking their annual pilgrimage to Sabarimala in Kerala. Around 25,000 to 30,000 devotees from the region reportedly observe the annual Deeksha and travel to the shrine to complete it. Since Sabarimala is located far away, many devotees prefer train journeys. Besides those observing Deeksha, a considerable number of other pilgrims also travel to the shrine in civilian clothes. However, only three regular trains currently operate through the combined districts towards destinations useful for the Sabarimala journey. Berths on these services are reportedly unavailable until January, while the Railways has not yet announced special trains. Devotees are therefore requesting the authorities to operate additional services.

Pilgrims have also appealed for the restoration of special trains that operated last year. The Cherlapalli–Kollam Express (07113) reached Adoni at 6:53 PM every Tuesday and passed through Adoni again on its return journey on Thursday. The Machilipatnam–Kollam Special Express (07103), introduced following requests from devotees, reached Nandyal at 8:35 PM and arrived at Kollam at 10 PM the following day. Passengers could get down at Chengannur and travel another 84 km by road to Sabarimala. The Nanded–Kollam Special Express (07111) also operated last December and January, reaching Kurnool at 8:25 PM and Dhone at 10:15 PM every Thursday. The three currently available options include the Pune–Kanyakumari Express (16381), the Kacheguda–Mangaluru/Murudeshwar Express (12789) and the Kuntakal–Kacheguda Express (12790), operating on their respective schedules. Devotees say additional trains would make the pilgrimage more convenient.