Train tickets are sold out and special services are not scheduled on summer when there is a maximum demand.
The travel season has begun with Holi and Easter holidays and is expected to peak during mid-April for Tamil New Year and at the end of the month when schools close.
The demand for tickets has shot up. Many have booked early, pushing reservations to waitlist on most trains to Madurai, Coimbatore, Trichy, Tuticorin, Tirunelveli, Bangalore and Kochi.
Only three special trains from Chennai to Tirunelveli, Ernakulam and Kochuveli run on April 12, when most people prefer to travel for Tamil New Year.