Some of the foot and rail over bridges across the city are in a dilapidated condition and pose a serious threat to pedestrians and motorists using them.
The foot overbridge at Fort Station, near the Chennai Central station and Broadway serves as an exit and entry point to the station and the different platforms from the busy Muthuswamy Road. The concrete structure here is eroded, exposing the iron reinforcements.
“The overbridges link the platforms to the main road. Pieces of concrete are already falling off on the road. Chances are that the concrete slabs would fall on some vehicle or pedestrian,” said Shyam Sundar, an advocate with the Madras High Court.
The foot overbridge at Beach Station is yet another proof of railway lethargy. Here, the staircase is shabby and worn out. “An estimated 50,000 people use the over bridge during peak hours,” he said.
The rail overbridges too are in a rundown condition. In Vyasarpadi, the steel structure holding the track is rusted and the concrete on the walls have started to come off.
The railing of the pedestrian pathway adjacent to the track above the subway in Egmore came apart as a result of bursting crackers on it.
“People residing here tore apart the concrete as part of Deepavali celebrations,” said Kiran, a local boy.
Shrubs and trees are growing over the structure. “This could eventually create cracks on the concrete wall. This itself is an indication of the poor maintenance of the infrastructure,” said Malika Sriram, a civil engineer.
A single goods train weighs about 3,600 tonnes and has 42-48 rakes and an express train with 22 compartments weighs 2,200 to 2,600 tonnes.
“The track has to sustain the frequent movement of several such trains. Therefore, frequent monitoring of the structures are of utmost importance,” he said.
He had filed an application under the Right to Information Act with Southern Railway seeking information on the stability of the structure.
The application was filed on August 28. While other queries on laying of new lines were answered on September 9, the railways ignored the core question relating to stability and safety.
In his application, Shyam Sundar asked about the stability and safety of the subway near Reserve Bank and the subway in Egmore, on Nelson Manikkam Road, Madley Road, T Nagar Duraiswamy Road, Aranganathan in Saidapet, Perambur and Vysarpadi.
When contacted for more information, Southern Railway officials told to this website's newspaper that the officials concerned were out of station and, hence, the details could only be provided later.