CHENNAI: Close on the heels of extending Arakkonam-Beach EMU services to Velachery on the MRTS section, Southern Railways is also planning to link Tambaram and Arakkonam route via Chennai Beach in the Chennai suburban train section.
Currently, Chennai has three suburban train routes: Chennai-Tambaram and Chengalpattu on the southern side, Chennai to Arakkonam on the Western side and the Chennai-Velachery MRTS route.
Connecting Arakkonam and Tambaram will bring relief to passengers travelling from Mambalam — the retail hub of the city frequented by thousands everyday — Guindy, Tambaram, etc., who now have to get down at Park station cross-over by foot to Chennai Central and take another train to destinations on the western corridor.
The other way out is to ride till Chennai Beach and change platforms to catch a train going west, but losing at least 10 to 20 minutes in the process. Transiting from Park to Chennai Central over the tall Foot-Over-Bridge (FOB) also, would result in a loss of around 30 minutes and be cumbersome for the aged or those with heavy luggage, commuters feel.
“A number of people living in Chrompet (which falls on the Chennai-Tambaram route) and surrounding areas work in the industries in and around Ambattur and Avadi. This new service, when implemented, will offer them a comfortable direct mode of transport,” says V Santhanam, founder Chrompet Rail Users Forum.
Commuters add that travelling by train is more comfortable when compared to crowded buses which get caught in traffic jams on congested arterial stretches. “A bus journey from Chromepet to Avadi will take a minimum of one hour. Seats are not guaranteed and the person might have to stand in the crowd,” says Santhanam.
When the facility starts, it will also help shoppers from far-away western suburbs like Thirumullaivoyal, who can can hop onto an EMU and travel non-stop for a shopping expedition at T Nagar, instead of taking a bus.
However, before the ambitious plan of linking the western and southern corridors is executed, two improvements would have to be made.
Firstly, 12 car EMUs are operated on the Chennai-Tambaram route, while on the Arakkonam route, nine car EMUs are operated, as many stations aren’t long enough to accommodate the longer locomotive.
Officials said that the length of platforms on 12 stations on the Chennai-Arakkonam route will begin shortly.
The other key issue is the construction of additional berthing space at the Chennai Beach station, as even today, trains often have to wait outside the station for want of a free platform.
This issue will be resolved when the almost-complete platform on the eastern side in the station would be commissioned shortly. “This platform would be utilised to berth the currently running Arakkonam-Velachery service, as well as Arakkonam-Tambaram trains in the future,” an official said.