Uphill climb for rail commuters reaching suburban stations

CHENNAI: While walking and climbing staircases every day can make for a healthier heart and keep you fit, climbing the steep steps of an escalator would most likely make anyone sweat and even give dangerous palpitations.

Those who take the trains in Tambaram, Sanatorium and Chromepet understand this all too well, as the escalators have been non-functional for several months.

Whether it’s the lackadaisical nature of our government contractors in maintenance, or the bad quality products used in building them, escalators in these stations often malfunction and hence, remain closed. “If it works for 2-3 days, these escalators will not function for a week,” claimed a commuter.

The Highways department built the foot-over bridges (FOB) for the commuters in Tambaram, Sanatorium and Chromepet with escalators. As all 3 places are important hubs in the city suburbs, thousands of people use the FOB every day.

But visitors to Chromepet GH and Sanatorium would often use the escalators. There are 6 escalators, which, most of the time, do not function, forcing commuters to climb the stairs. Those who are unable to climb, take a huge risk and cross the National Highway on foot.

Dinesh, who was travelling with his elderly mother to the hospital, recalled, “I had to carry her because the escalators failed. There was no lift facility and I saw many people struggling to climb the staircase.”

Officials said that the reason why the escalator failed regularly was because the cables were bitten by rats. “Many times water entered into the escalator, which had to be repaired,” they added.

Commuters dismissed these claims and opined that such excuses were unacceptable. “These are not valid reasons. What’s stopping them from installing high-standard escalators with proper sealing on the highway which thousands of people visit every day?” averred another regular commuter.

P Viswanathan, a social activist from Chitlapakkam, lamented over the constant repair work being done on escalators. “If we inform the Highways department, officials visit and rectify the fault quickly but in a few days, escalators stop working. This raises the question on the standard of the company that has been contracted by the department to maintain, repair and service the escalators,” he pointed out.

The situation is no different in the Tambaram station. Rail commuters said that escalators in platforms 1-4 do not function on most days. “We don’t know whether officials are trying to save electricity by turning off the escalators but most of the time, escalators are being used as a regular staircase,” said Thomas, a regular commuter. “I’ve been using the escalator in this station only as a staircase. When I come to board the EMU, on most days, the escalator is turned off. So I walk on it.”

When contacted, an official from the Highways department said that complaints were being resolved immediately. “Since it’s an electrical equipment, nobody can predict when it would fail. We’re doing our best and hopefully, that would prevent it from getting repaired often,” added the official.