CHENNAI: Passengers of suburban trains between Chennai Beach and Tambaram were put to great hardship on Saturday morning following a major signal failure at Beach station.
Railway officials said the signal failure forced them to stop services on the stretch between 9 am and noon.
Following this, trains were stopped en route and passengers walked along railway tracks to reach the nearest stations to find alternative means of transport. Passengers said there was the delay in the announcement of stopping of trains.“I was waiting for a train at Chromepet station for 30 minutes before an announcement was made that trains will not be going to Chennai Beach,” said Diwakar Aravind of Tambaram.
“I had to take a bus home,” he said. Railway officials had told passengers they would not make any refund, he said. Sam Timothy of Tambaram had to cancel his business meeting because he was stuck in between St Thomas Mount and Guindy stations. Southern railway officials said major signal failures are a rare occurrence. Steps would be taken to ensure that such situations do not recur. Though train services resumed at noon, the impact of stopping of the trains was felt till late in the evening.