Speaking to Herald, Station Manager M Thamaraja Selvan said starting from Wednesday, three direct trains to Vailankanni, one on August 30 and the other on September 3, will leave from Vasco Railway station at 12 noon and reach the next day at about 3 pm and the same train will leave Vailankanni at 8 pm.
“On September 7, the direct train to Vailankanni will leave Vasco Railway station at 7.50 am. Besides the direct train there will be other trains that will leave for Vailankanni via Bangalore,” informed Selvan.
Chief booking supervisor Albert Eric told Herald that other direct trains on August 30, September 3 and 7 to Vailankanni are almost 75% booked. Speaking to Herald, some pilgrims have thanked the earlier government for starting the direct trains to Vailankanni, especially during the feast of Vailankanni. The pilgrims said earlier they used to face a lot of difficulty in reaching Vailankanni, as they had to go via Bangalore. “We had to spent at least six-seven hours at Bangalore station to catch our connecting train to Vailankanni. With the starting of direct train four years back, the pilgrims reach Vailankanni in time,” said a pilgrim.
Speaking to Herald, former minister Jose Philip D’Souza said it was a demand from the pilgrims from Goa to start direct trains to Vailankanni, especially at the time of the feast of Our Lady of Vailankanni.
