Passenger associations demand stoppages, basic necessities

CHENNAI: Rail passenger associations in the Chennai division of the Southern Railway have urged political parties to meet their demands ahead of the Lok Sabha elections that are round the corner.

For instance, residents of Tiruvallur have been demanding the stoppage of trains for more than 30 years. “Tiruvallur is a district headquarters and the suburban station located at 42 km from Chennai Central. With over 37 lakh residents, it’s also an industrial area, and a pilgrimage centre, which are all crucial factors to take our request seriously,” said Y Jayapaulraj, member, Divisional Railway Users Consultative Committee (DRUCC).

Several passengers who use these trains regularly said that the fare hike has affected them badly. “The State government is directly or indirectly getting more money from passengers with the introduction of Vande Bharat trains, which are faster and hence, reach the destination earlier than most normal trains. But the basic infrastructure facilities like toilets are not available in most of the stations except the terminals in the city. And even these are not always accessible,” said Naina Mailamani, president, Arakkonam Rail Passengers Association. “Also, many express trains are not provided with the required ordinary and ladies compartments.”

R Deenadayalan, Railway Season Ticket Holder’s Association (Chennai to Gummidipoondi), claimed that most train run late. “Train timings are not followed most of the time, which affects office-goers and students the most,” he pointed out.

When contacted, an official attached to SR’s Chennai division dismissed the concerns regarding train timings, and told DT Next that timings were followed “95% of the time on normal days in my division. There’s a delay only when there are maintenance works on the tracks, and even that’s informed in advance. As for stoppage of trains, that’s a policy-level decision which comes under the railway board’s purview”.