Title - Rajasthan natives in city cheer new train to Bikaner

CHENNAI: Several natives of Rajasthan who live in the lanes of Sowcarpet and nearby areas were both happy and sad on Monday.
They are thrilled that Southern Railway , heeding to their requests, has announced a special summer train to Bikaner . The weekly train, which will leave Chennai Egmore every Monday and reach that city on Tuesday, will depart from Bikaner on Thursday and arrive here the next day. It will run between the two cities till the second week of June.
However, many are disappointed that almost all tickets have been booked. Just a few second class sleeper seats are available from Chennai Egmore on two Mondays in June, while, only a few second class sleeper tickets are available on June 13 from Bikaner.
In spite of that, members of the Sowcarpet-based Tamil Nadu Rajasthan royal association celebrated as the first summer special left Chennai Egmore for Bikaner at 3.15pm on Monday. They distributed sweets to the passengers who left by the train.
Prakash Chand Jain, a social worker, said, "We are so happy now. Many natives of Rajasthan who have settled here have been waiting for long for a special train during summer. That dream has come true now."
Earlier, many travelling to the northwestern state had to depend on the Jodhpur Express that runs every Saturday.
About two weeks ago, members of the Tamil Nadu Rajasthan Royal Association had staged a "road roko" near Chennai Central railway station demanding more trains to Rajasthan ago. The protest was led by the association president, Arjun Singh Elana. The members of the association as well as some Rajasthani residents from Sowcarpet later submitted a letter to the general manager of Southern Railway in support of their demand.