CHENNAI: The Southern Railway has sought the relocation of 43 Tasmac outlets near stations and tracks in Chennai and its neighbouring districts due to recurring incidents of trespassing deaths, accidents, stone-pelting on trains and harassment of women passengers.
The Chennai division wrote to the Tasmac managing director in September 2024 and May 2025 before taking the matter to the chief secretary in July this year. Tasmac has not responded to any of the letters, sources said. The outlets identified by the railway are in districts including Chennai, Tiruvallur, Vellore, Tirupattur, Ranipet, and Kanchipuram.
The railway officials said people drinking near the outlets frequently trespass on to the tracks, cross at level-crossing gates and other vulnerable points, travel dangerously on trains and sleep on platforms and inside coaches. Complaints of women passengers being harassed and railway employees being subjected to nuisance have also been reported. The railway has further raised concerns over theft and tampering with assets, including copper signal wires, unauthorised entry into stations and littering around railway premises.
Among the locations identified as particularly vulnerable are Royapuram, Korukkupet, Perambur, Jolarpet, Villivakkam, Avadi, Ennore, Thiruvalangadu and Nandiambakkam. The list includes three outlets in Perambur, two each in Korukkupet and Avadi, and one in each of the other locations.
L Saravanan, president of the Ambattur Rail Commuters Welfare Association, said some men buy liquor from the outlet near Ambattur station and consume it on suburban trains. They sleep on the floor of coaches and trouble passengers and ticket-counter staff, he said. “They repeatedly pester the staff, asking when trains to their destinations will arrive,” Saravanan said.
At Tiruvallur, the railway subway has become a drinking spot because of an outlet near the station, said K Baskar, secretary of the Tiruvallur Railway Passengers Association.
“Men sleep at the entrance and inside the subway, making it difficult for women to use it, particularly at night. At times, they are not properly clothed. There is only one Railway Protection Force personnel deployed there,” he said.
A Tharanidharan, a social worker in Avadi, said men drinking near the station occupy platform benches and gather around the Tasmac outlet on Station Road. This affects passengers and people heading to Avadi Government Hospital, a nearby Murugan temple and New Military Road, he said. “We have repeatedly asked the government and Tasmac to shift the outlet,” Tharanidharan said.
At Tambaram Sanatorium, activist Dayanand Krishnan said the presence of an outlet near the station made passengers feel unsafe.
Tasmac officials said relocating the outlets was difficult because of public opposition and the lack of suitable alternative premises. The corporation had identified more than 100 locations across the state for shifting existing outlets, but several proposals were dropped after residents objected or the premises were found unsuitable,” a senior official said. At least seven outlets near railway stations and tracks have nevertheless been closed or relocated in recent months, TNIE learnt.
The TVK government recently closed 717 Tasmac outlets operating within 500 metres of educational institutions, places of worship and bus stands. There is, however, no specific rule governing the location of liquor outlets near railway tracks, the official said.
“Several states are considering framing guidelines, as over 17,000 liquor outlets are located near railway tracks across the country,” the official added.
T Dhanasekaran, general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Tasmac Workers’ Association, said the Railway Board could approach the court seeking guidelines in the interest of passengers and the public.