Chennai: The 5th and 6th line commissioning between Moore Market Complex (MMC) at Central and Basin Bridge (BBQ) has altered the duration of often delayed trips between Arakkonam / Tiruvallur / Tiruttani to Chennai Central by about 15-20 minutes, but passengers’ woes of not having frequent trains still remain to be solved.
When K. Sethuraman starts for office by about 8 am from Pattabiram station, according to the timetable, there should be a train at 8.10 am, 8.25 am and 8.44 am, but he never finds a train if he misses the one that arrives at 8 am.
“After the 8 am train, next train is only at 8.30 am. How are we supposed to reach our offices on time if we don’t have a proper frequency even during peak hours?” asks a distraught Sethuraman.
Monday morning when Srinithi decided to skip a train that arrived at 9.35 am as it was overcrowded, little did she realise that she would end up waiting another 40 minutes for the next train to arrive. It was also overcrowded.
“This happens a lot on this route. We don’t have frequent trains and so, the trains are usually overcrowded. Even the first class compartment will be filled with people,” said Sethuraman, who is also a member of Pattabiram Rail Passengers Association.
Adding to the woes, trains on the fast line from Thiruninravur, which is the next station to Pattabiram towards Tiruvallur, move on slow line due to the absence of a platform on the fast line at Thiruninravur, causing a hold up of other slow trains.
“We are contemplating a platform on the fast line. Goods trains used to cause delays earlier, but now the movement of goods trains on the local trains lines is prohibited unless there is an emergency,” said a senior operations official.
After the lack of proper frequency towards Arakkonam and Tiruttani was brought to his notice, he said that measures would be taken to check why trains are delayed.
“We will work on the rationalization of timings now. After much contemplation, the 5th and 6th lines have finally materialised. Next in the pipeline is to eliminate the merging of lines at Arakkonam which is the reason for major delays,” he said.
The official added that current delay between MMC and BBQ despite the new 5th and 6th lines is due to cautionary measures being taken for the reinforcement of new tracks, and until the beginning of next month, there may be some delays.
