Lives derailed as Southern Railway cancels Beach-Chengalpattu EMUs, more in store on Sunday too

CHENNAI: Several suburban trains cancelled, buses packed full and fleecing by auto and share auto drivers exploiting their plight – it was a hellish day for thousands of commuters after EMUs on the Chennai Beach–Chengalpattu section were cancelled allegedly without adequate advance intimation.

The situation is set to get worse on Sunday, as all EMUs in the Chennai-Chengalpattu section have been cancelled between 7.45 am to 7.45 pm due to engineering works in Egmore yard. While the Southern Railway said it would operate passenger specials from and to Chennai Egmore and Chengalpattu–Guduvanchery–Chengalpattu, not all who went through the ordeal on Saturday are convinced it would help.

It was a real chaos at bus stops from Tambaram to Pallavaram along GST Road, from where hundreds of anxious commuters spilled over to the road. It took up to an hour for many of them, especially women, to manage to get inside already packed buses.

Recounting her struggles, S Meenakashi, an accountant working in a private company at Nungambakkam, said she was instructed to be at office early because of the ongoing audit work. However, due to the cancellation of many suburban trains, she had to catch three buses to reach office. “I managed to reach office only at 11.30 am," she said.

In the absence of adequate number of buses to deal with the situation, many passengers turned to autos and share autos, only to be fleeced. "Share autos usually charge between Rs 30 and Rs 40 from Pallavaram bus stand to Guindy terminus. However, today they charged Rs 100," said K Lavanya, an executive working at a leading star hotel in Guindy.