Dimly-lit subway gives cover for antisocials in St Thomas Mount

It is one of the oldest and most important railway stations in the suburbs, but the St Thomas Mount railway station lacks some of the basic facilities essential for rail commuters.

The station registers about 18,000 passengers every day, mostly hailing from the residential areas in the neighbourhood like Adambakkam, Vanuvampet, Ullagaram, Puludivakkam, Madipakkam, Keelkattalai, Moovarasampet, Nandambakkam, Manapakkam and Alandur. Besides thriving residential localities, the area around the station has many education institutions, hotels and private hospitals.

During the peak hours in the morning, two EMUs are operated from Beach to St Thomas Mount alone. With the work under way for linking the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) to St Thomas Mount railway station, the patronage for the station is expected to increase manifold, as it would become one of the important transit points between different modes of travel. Yet, the station lacks several amenities.

The station became infamous last year after six people travelling on footboard died in two days, when they slipped after hitting the concrete fence on platform number four.

Commuters complain that despite being one of the important stations in the suburbs, it lacks some of the basic facilities like proper lighting, clocks and drinkingwater facility.

One the complaints that most commuters raise is the unsafe subway located in the station. The subway is dark, causing inconvenience to the rail commuters, especially women. According to sources, several chain snatching incidents have been reported near the subway.

Sources added that the railway station is unsafe as there are no CCTV cameras fixed even after an RPF official was shot dead by a Sri Lankan national when the official chased him for traveling without tickets a few years ago. Even though a separate RPF station was set up in the premise, CCTVs have not been fixed as yet.

Dinesh, a staff in the star hotel and commuter said, “I used to come to the station early in the morning after finishing my shift. But the station is not lit properly. At times, I am afraid to stand there alone.”

Another problem that the people face is drinking water being unavailable in the station all the time. The commuters added that there are no proper canteens for their convenience, while the clocks fixed in the station are very old. R Meena, a regular commuter, pointed out that the toilet at the station is located in a such a spot that most people do not know where the facility is. “Also, the pathway to the toilet is not properly maintained, and there are no lights at night,” she said.

When contacted, the station master of St Thomas Mount, Ganga Subramanian said they have taken the initial steps to fix CCTV cameras, adding that it is in progress. “The lights have become old; we would take steps to replace them with LEDs,” he said, assuring that the issues faced by commuters will be resolved soon.