55 EMUs to go off track for three weeks, hit lakhs in Chennai
Length of the lines leading to and from a station would be increased suitably to accommodate 24-coach express trains and 12-car Electric Multiple Units to meet the public requirement.
CHENNAI: The daily routine of lakhs of people in the State capital is set to get seriously disrupted, with the Chennai division of the Southern Railway announcing the cancellation of as many as 55 EMUs on the Chennai Beach- Tambaram stretches, which has the highest patronage among the four suburban sections for three weeks from July 23.
The cancellation announced on Wednesday is required to take up yard re-modelling, an elaborate engineering work to remodel the lines leading to and from a major station to increase the receiving speed of trains, the number of platforms and operate more express and suburban trains.
The prospect of having to depend on alternative arrangements, most of which are more expensive and much less convenient, has already anxiety among daily commuters.
Among them is Parvathy S, who commutes from Mudichur to Egmore every day for work. The cancellation will force her to take a bus to Tambaram and another from there to Pallavaram before she can even board the passenger special trains to Egmore. “As the frequency of free buses is very less in that area, I will be forced to travel in express buses which are expensive," she said.
Another commuter, V Saravanan from Pammal, said he would be forced to go to Pallavaram on his bike to board the special train – a journey that is not just inconvenient but risky as well because of the ongoing sewage line works.
“I could probably reach Tirusulam and take a Metro Rail, which is much more expensive than the money that I spend for the entire month on season pass holder,” he said.
“Cancellations are inevitable as it is done for passenger safety. But the Railways should complete the work as soon as possible,” said V Santhanam, president, Chromepet Rail Users Forum.
An official from the Chennai Division said the Railways has written a letter to the government requesting operation of more MTC buses on the routes affected by the train cancellation.
What is yard re-modelling
The re-modelling work involves increasing the length of lines at the station, shifting of signal poles and creation of additional lines.
After the work is completed, the length of the lines leading to and from a station would be increased to accommodate 24-coach express trains and 12-car EMUs, curves could be lengthened and signal poles shifted to increase receiving speed. Currently, the receiving speed for trains entering and leaving Tambaram terminal is only 15 kmph.
This would also help meet the demand for increasing the number of platforms in of Tambaram, the third terminal of the city and from where more express trains originate/terminate of late.
