CHENNAI: Thousands of passengers were stranded at suburban railway stations on Beach - Chengalpattu route after the train services were disrupted for two hours. Around 1.25 pm, when the Chennai Beach-bound local train departed from the Tambaram station, the overhead line got entangled with the pantograph (a device mounted on the roof of the train to receive power from over headline) of the train resulting in disconnection. Hence, an emergency power block was enforced which affected the movement of train operation on platforms 1, 2, 3 and 4 at Tambaram between 2.50 pm and 3.10 pm.
As a result, six local train services in Chennai - Chengalpattu were cancelled. Due to this, the platforms of St Thomas Mount, Guindy, Nungambakkam, Egmore, Park and Chennai Beach stations were occupied by thousands of passengers.
The passengers from Guindy, St Thomas Mount and Pazhavanthangal stations moved to Metro stations, while passengers from other stations boarded MTC buses, cabs and autorickshaws to reach their destination. The stations also witnessed a large number of passengers jumping onto the tracks for crossing the stations. Many passengers said they missed the connecting trains at Beach and Central.
S Rajkumar, a passenger from Guindy said, “There was no train service to Park for nearly 40 minutes. The announcement over the cancellation of trains was also announced late. I have to board the express train at Central. Had the announcement of cancellation been made immediately, I would have boarded the Metro train.” On being alerted, the railway workers engaged in repair works and service was restored by 3.30 pm.