Chennai: The Chennai Metro Rail Limited’s (CMRL) emergency helpline has received over 500 calls since it was launched in 2015. The number – 1860 425 1515- is being used by commuters to lodge complaints or ask queries on anything from train timings to nearest landmarks.
According to officials from the operations department, the helpline has been very useful in finding lost articles. On an average, they are receiving 20 calls per day as against seven calls that they were receiving before the introduction of the underground stretch.
“We had received complaints about lost mobile phones from almost all the stations. As the operation control centre is at the central office, we immediately alert all the 20 stations about the complaint. In most cases, we have succeeded in finding the articles that are either left near eateries or train seats,” said an official.
It is learnt that 60 per cent of the complaints/ queries are received from males while the rest are from women. Most of them said the language barrier is eliminated this way, as they would face issues while asking query to a worker who only knows Tamil or while using the metro application, which is only in English.
How do you ascertain the credibility of calls? “We have a unique tracking system that records a person’s phone number through which his details and location are tracked. In case of a fishy phone call, we report to the security control manned by the city police located right next to the control centre,” said an official.
He further added that the tracking system has helped nab the 60-year-old man who issued a bomb threat at Arumbakkam metro station. “We found that he was sitting in a restaurant right next to the metro station and arrested him.”
According to Krishna Panth, a regular commuter of the metro, the helpline worked as a tool for commuters through which, they put forth a variety of issues apart from train timings and landmarks, including metro construction debris blocking the roads and similar civic issues.
