Additional buses overcrowded; autos, share-autos fleece public in Chennai

CHENNAI: The Southern Railway’s suburban train cancellations from 10.30 am to 1.30 pm between Pallavaram and Guduvanchery, which began on July 23, continue to haunt passengers even today.

Normal life in suburbia was adversely affected on Monday, as office-goers, college students, women and several senior citizens struggled to find alternate transportation that was supposed to be made by the government departments.

The services have been cancelled for maintenance works in Tambaram Yard till August 14. Commuters claim that there were no special arrangements made during the first week as trains were cancelled only during weekends and it was manageable for the people.

When DT Next visited Guduvanchery railway station around noon, there was a huge footfall of passengers coming from Chengalpattu to de-board the train and access other modes of transportation. There was a rush, as people were in a hurry to reach their offices and colleges, and many had been running late due to the cancellations.

K Selvakumar, a passenger commuting to Egmore from Villupuram, said: “The cancellation has been a difficult transition, as it increases congestion on the roads. In addition to a huge spike in traffic, shifting to different modes of transportation to reach Egmore delays my daily commute.”

Auto drivers took turns fleecing the public. M Madhavan, a passenger from Villupuram, going to a hospital in Thousand Lights lamented over being over-charged by auto drivers. “I had to pay more than double the charge to avoid the delay in my journey,” he added.

DT Next learnt that most of the share-auto drivers have also doubled their fares on Monday. From Tambaram to Chromepet and Pallavaram, they were charging Rs 20. But now, it has increased to Rs 30, and some were even charging Rs 40.

The additional buses operated by the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) were not sufficient to meet passenger demand. Even the special trains from Pallavaram to Beach, and Guduvanchery to Chengalpattu, were not able to handle the huge influx of commuters.

“Buses were less on Monday compared to the weekends,” rued a commuter. “Drivers stop the bus near the Gandhi Road junction in Tambaram, which is nearly one kilometre away from the bus stop. It would be difficult to continue like this till August 14. Officials must take steps to make our commute easier.”