Tamil Nadu: Commuters demand more trains, officials claim sufficient services

CHENNAI: On Thursday morning, 26-year-old Devaraj Subramani started his journey to office on a suburban train from Tambaram like any other day. A twist of fate and he was among the four who suffered serious injuries as he fell down from the suburban train headed to Mount. The resident of Korattur had been, for a fortnight, living at his sister’s place in Tambaram.

“The astrologer told us that this period was not favourable to him so he was advised to live away from home,” his distressed father, K. Subramani said. The son of a construction worker, Devaraj, had graduated from Pachiayappa’s College and was working at a shipping company, and on Thursday was commuting to his office when the incident happened. “He is a hardworking boy and would contribute a major share of his salary to assist us,” he added as he waited for his son, who was injured in the face and both the legs, to gain consciousness on Thursday afternoon. Devaraj is one among the lakhs of passengers who rely on trains to commute from semi-urban areas to the Chennai city.

“Chennai Beach to Tambaram trains are pretty frequent during office hours. It is easy to get a train within 10 minutes,” said K. Satish, an IT professional who travels daily from his home in Egmore to his office in Tambaram. But passengers from other sections like beyond Tambaram, and Arakkonam, Sulurpet, Gummindipundi have been, for long, troubled by poor services. A senior official from the operations department admitted that the frequency of trains on the Chennai Beach- Tambaram -Chengalpet section is determined, including the Mail and Express trains as they have stoppages at Tambaram and Chengalpet.

“The frequency between Beach and Tambaram has been reduced to 8- 9 minutes. The issues are with places beyond Tambaram, which can be solved with a dedicated line for suburban trains,” he told Deccan Chronicle. “The third and fourth line between Chengalpet and Tambaram will surely solve the issue of frequency.” However, passengers claim that several times trains get delayed and thus, people rush to catch whatever train comes to the station, leading to severe congestion in the trains.