Chennai: Southern Railway's EMU cancellation decision leaves Deepavali shoppers in quandary

CHENNAI: The Southern Railway's decision to cancel several EMU trains this Sunday, the last holiday before Deepavali, has left the city puzzled. The metropolis usually witnesses huge crowds of Deepavali shoppers on Sunday ahead of the festival with many relying on the Railways for cost-effective transportation.

With EMU trains playing a crucial role, connecting T Nagar, Central, Broadway, Tambaram, Chromepet, Ambattur and Avadi, the commercial hubs that attract massive footfall during festivals, the anger was palpable. The cancellations are attributed to the fourth line works between Chennai Beach and Egmore railway stations. Many local trains between Chennai Beach and Arakkonam are also either cancelled or diverted. Since these trains, being a major mode of transportation from the suburbs to the commercial hubs, would affect thousands of commuters many are at a loss to understand why the Southern Railway has behaved unmindful of the public's needs.

"The Railways should not have cancelled the trains on the eve of Deepavali festival. Many passengers travel to their natives ahead of the festival and suburban trains being the main public transportation mode will affect the people badly," said K Baskar, secretary of Tiruvallur Rail Passengers' Association.

Pranav B, a resident of Perungalathur said, "Being a holiday, most of the people prefer Sunday for shopping for Deepavali from Mambalam and other commercial hubs in the city. Southern Railway's claim of operating passenger trains in a frequency of 20 minutes is not sufficient to cater for the passenger rush days ahead of the festival."

Dinesh, a resident of Tambaram said, "I was planning to go shopping with the family on Sunday. We would usually travel by train since there would be no traffic issues. But now the Railways has announced the cancellation of trains, which is unacceptable. The authorities know how much people would be relying on train services at this time before the Deepavali festival and the decision is unmindful.

When contacted, an official from Southern Railway said that the cancellation was announced earlier and was published in the media. Arguing that the maintenance work is being carried out only for the welfare of the people, the official maintained that so far no order has been received to postpone the maintenance work.