CHENNAI: Thousands of rail passengers were inconvenienced on Sunday after train services were disrupted on the Chennai-Arakkonam section due to the fire incident. Many passengers, unaware of the sudden cancellations, were forced to return home after arriving at Chennai Central station between 5.30 am and 7 am, as the announcements came just 30 to 40 minutes before the scheduled departures.
All suburban train services on the Chennai-Arakkonam section were suspended from 5.15 am in both directions. About 15 express trains bound for Chennai which departed on Saturday, including the Mangaluru Mail, Nilgiris Express, Mysuru Express, Coimbatore Intercity, Thiruvananthapuram Mail, and Jolarpettai Express, were short-terminated between Arakkonam and Gudiyatham.
Additionally, 15 express trains bound to Tirupati, Thiruvananthapuram, Bengaluru, and Mysuru from Chennai were cancelled. A section of passengers scheduled to travel to Bengaluru on premium trains such as the Shatabdi and Vande Bharat had to book expensive omnibus services.
S Lalithakumari, a resident of Alandur, said: “I received a confirmation message for my Kovai Express ticket at 9.15 pm on Saturday. We, a group of four, reached Chennai Central by 5.45 am. Just as I was checking the train’s status, I received another message saying the train was cancelled. It’s now an uphill task to rebook tickets for all of us.”
Rail passengers said they struggled to find alternative travel through omnibuses and other connecting trains. K Baskar, former DRUCC member of Chennai Division, said, “A passenger who bought a paper ticket through an Automatic Ticket Vending Machine (ATVM) at Walajah Road was refused a refund, even though rules allow for it during cancellations. Staff claimed there was no provision for refunding ATVM tickets.”
He alleged emergency helpline numbers offered no support even after multiple calls. The transport department deployed 30 special buses to ferry stranded passengers from Tiruttani, Tiruvallur, and Arakkonam, which proved insufficient.