63 suburban train cancelled in Chennai for maintenance works; resulting in traffic jams across city
From July 23 to August 14, suburban electric trains between Tambaram-Chengalpattu and Tambaram-Chennai Beach have been cancelled due to maintenance works.
Ongoing maintenance works on railway tracks and yards in the Tambaram station
CHENNAI: Ongoing maintenance works on railway tracks and yards in the Tambaram station area has led to the cancellation of 63 suburban electric trains until August 14, causing severe inconvenience to passengers.
Despite the introduction of special trains and additional city buses, traffic jams on GST Road from Tambaram to Pallavaram have compounded the difficulties for motorists and passengers.
From July 23 to August 14, suburban electric trains between Tambaram-Chengalpattu and Tambaram-Chennai Beach have been cancelled due to maintenance works.
To mitigate the inconvenience, special electric trains have been running between Pallavaram and Chennai Beach at regular intervals, but these measures have proven insufficient.
The cancellation of trains has forced many passengers to rely on city buses, resulting in overcrowding at the Tambaram GST Road bus stand and the railway station bus stand.
Additional buses have been deployed by MTC (Municipal Transport Corporation) between Pallavaram-Guduvanchery, Pallavaram-Tambaram, Pallavaram-Chengalpattu, Tambaram-D Nagar, and Tambaram Sanitorium.
However, these buses have been inadequate to accommodate the increased passenger volume, leading to further discomfort.
Moreover, most of these additional buses are deluxe buses with higher fares, while regular and pink buses, which offer free travel for women, have become scarce.
The situation has also led to severe traffic jams on the Chennai-Trichy-Chennai National Highway, with vehicles inching forward due to the congestion.
Passengers have expressed frustration, suggesting that earlier intervention by traffic police to divert heavy vehicles and cars to alternative routes could have alleviated the traffic woes.
With the weekend approaching, there is an opportunity to manage the situation.
However, starting Monday, August 5, office workdays are expected to worsen traffic on GST Road. Passengers urge traffic police and highway authorities to swiftly redirect vehicles to alternate routes to prevent further congestion.
Meanwhile, track repairs at Tambaram railway station are progressing smoothly. Currently, trains run at speeds up to 90 km/h, but post-renovation, the new tracks will support speeds up to 120 km/h.
Modern spare parts are installed and signals are repaired so that there are frequent signal failures and there are no obstacles in the movement of trains. Similarly the points connecting the railway tracks are being modernized. As a result, after August 14, the electric trains will be operated between Chennai Beach-Tambaram-Chengalpattu without any interruptions and on time, according to the railway officials.