CHENNAI: With the Southern Railway set to commence construction of a 4.1 km fourth railway line, connecting Beach and Egmore stations, Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) operations will be temporarily suspended between Beach and Chintadripet for seven months, starting August 27. The trains operated between Beach and Velachery will run from Chintadripet to Velachery.
“Commuters are availing 122 services per day in the Beach - Velachery section. However, from August 27, the number of services will be curtailed to 80 between Chintadripet and Velachery. During this period, trains will run at intervals of 15 to 20 minutes,” said B Vishwanath Eerya, DRM, Chennai.
Furthermore, 59 integrated cross-sectoral services between the southwestern (Avadi & Arakkonam) and northeastern (Gummidipundi) suburban lines and Velachery are currently in operation. These services will be terminated at Beach, added Eerya.
For the assistance of passengers, additional counters have been opened at Chintadripet station. “We have requested the MTC to augment the number of bus services between Central and Beach stations,” Eerya said. The Tambaram - Egmore corridor consists of four lines, with two dedicated to suburban trains and two for express trains.
However, the Egmore - Beach route has only three lines. While two are designated for suburban trains, the third serves for both express and freight trains, operating in both directions. Currently, the Egmore - Beach section accommodates Chengalpattu - Kacheguda, Chengalpattu - Kakinada Port Circar daily express trains, along with nine weekly trains.
“The absence of a fourth line between Beach and Egmore makes it difficult to introduce new train services to places like Howrah, Patna, and Guwahati from Tambaram,” said an official.