CHENNAI: Plans of rail passengers in the southwestern suburban may be affected as the Chennai division of Southern Railway has announced the complete cancellation of 55 train services between Pallavaram and Guduvancheri from July 23 to August 14. The decision was taken to facilitate engineering maintenance at Tambaram as part of terminal development works.
To mitigate the impact of these cancellations in the Chennai Beach-Tambaram-Chengalpattu section between 10 am and 12 pm, the Southern Railway will operate 39 special trains between Chennai Beach and Pallavaram and between Guduvancheri and Chengalpattu. Despite these measures, 55 services will remain completely cancelled in the Pallavaram-Guduvancheri section. The Beach-Chengalpattu section caters to about 5.5 lakh passengers daily with 255 services.
According to a statement, 23 local trains from Chennai Beach to Tambaram/Chengalpattu have been cancelled between 10 am and 1.30 pm. To accommodate the passengers, 11 special services will be operated between Chennai Beach and Pallavaram.
Similarly, between 7.19 pm and 12 am, nine trains heading towards Tambaram and Chengalpattu have been cancelled, and passengers will be accommodated by five special services between Chennai Beach and Pallavaram. Additionally, 16 local trains from Chengalpattu/Tambaram to Chennai Beach have been cancelled between 10 am and 1.30 pm. During this period, nine special trains will operate from Pallavaram to Chennai Beach.
Moreover, seven trains operating between 8.55 pm and 11 pm from Chengalpattu/Guduvancheri/Tambaram to Chennai Beach will be cancelled. Instead, four special services will run from Pallavaram to Chennai Beach. To compensate for the cancellation of train services from Tambaram to Chengalpattu, seven special trains will be operated between Guduvancheri and Chengalpattu in each direction between 10.45 am and 11 pm.