Agony of waiting for the EMU
Cancellation of trains without notification prominently at stations, reduction in number of services and constant delays in arrivals have caused hardships to commuters, who regularly travel between Tambaram and Chengalpattu
Most commuters never know about cancellation until the day it happens, and end up visiting the station and waiting for hours in vain
CHENNAI: Rail commuters are put to hardship since EMU services have reduced between the Tambaram-Chengalpattu route for the past few months.
Earlier, the Southern Railway was operating 90 services in Tambaram and Chengalpattu but a few months ago it was reduced to 83. No official information was given to the public about it.
Till November 2023, the Southern Railway was operating 45 EMUs to Chengalpattu-Tambaram route and 45 EMUs to the Tambaram-Chengalpattu route. Later, the SR announced that the services were reduced due to maintenance work.
After that, 42 trains were operated to Chengalpattu from Tambaram and 41 trains to Tambaram from Chengalpattu.
However, even after the maintenance work was completed, the number of services did not increase. The SR continued to operate only 83 services in one of the busiest routes.
When the third rail lane was inaugurated from Tambaram to Chengalpattu, authorities had assured that services to Chengalpattu would be increased and most trains would be operated from Chennai Beach to Chengalpattu. However, one year after the third lane became operational, the number of services has not increased and trains are not following the schedule.
“Railways authorities are not informing us about cancellations even if they’re temporary. Recently, on Sunday, due to the maintenance work, the SR announced that all EMUs between Beach and Chengalpattu, Tirumalpur were cancelled from 10 am to 4 pm. However, the official announcement was given only on Saturday evening. Most commuters were not aware of this ended up visiting the stations as usual to board the train,” recalled a commuter.
Even in the stations, there are no display boards or posters to inform commuters about cancellations and/or timing and frequency changes, if any.
Karthiga of Vandalur recalled her Sunday ordeal, and explained: “I came to the station with my husband and children on Sunday noon to go to Mambalam for shopping. But, only after reaching there did we come to know that the services were cancelled. If the railways had circulated the news properly, we could have changed our plan.”
P Vishvanathan, an activist from Chitlapakkam, pointed out that most residents in and around the stations rely on these services for their regular commute. “So, the railways should take extra measures to inform the public about cancellations and schedule change, at least a few days prior so that people can make an alternate arrangement or change their plan. This is not difficult for the scale of operations such as the SR,” he opined.
Commuters added that due to the last-minute cancellations, even the State government had not operated extra MTC buses for the public.
“Nowadays, it feels as if the railway department does not care about the people and operates the services as they wish. Also, EMUs don’t always follow timings in the morning and evenings, especially during peak hours. Even after the third lane began, the frequency has not been increased,” said another commuter.
When contacted, an SR official said that EMUs were delayed sometimes due to some unexpected reasons.
“This is not done intentionally. About maintenance work, we make announcements in all the stations a day before and also tell the staff to place posters on the walls of the stations,” explained the official. “And, we provide necessary information and announcements through the media and station announcements. Maintenance work is being done for the public’s safety.”