BENGALURU: The torrential downpour at Chennai on Monday terribly impacted over 1,300 train passengers from Karnataka, with two of the trains terminating at Katpadi Junction, 230km from Bengaluru. With half of the nearly 300 passengers on board the Vande Bharat Express from Mysuru to Chennai via Bengaluru, that reached Katpadi by 7.30pm, refusing to budge from their seats, it was decided that the train would run up to Arakkonam. It later ran till Chennai Beach station, said passengers and railway officials.
Chennai Express from Mysuru reached Katpadi by noon, while the West Coast Express from Mangaluru via Coimbatore reached by 1.30pm. “The tracks leading to Chennai were submerged in water. The passengers were asked to alight and nearly 1,000 of them from both the trains did so. Buses were arranged by the local administration to take them upto Katpadi New Town, the intercity bus station, from where they could continue their trip to Chennai or return to Karnataka,” officials said.
The Vande Bharat (No. 20608) from Mysuru had a delayed start at 4.15pm (scheduled time 2.55pm). At 5.05pm, passengers received messages on their mobiles from Indian Railways saying, “Train no. 20608 Mysuru MAS VB Express, leaving Mysuru Junction on 04.12.2023 is short terminated at Katpadi JN and the train will not touch station MGR Chennai.”
Chaos followed inside the coaches, post the text message. Bengalureans Tanya Shenoy (name changed) and her friend S Nimisha, final year undergraduate students, were on their way to Chennai to take up their exams on Friday. Tanya told TNIE, “It was only after I heard a passenger arguing with the TTE why they were not informed earlier that we knew the train would not reach Chennai. Due to personal safety reasons and repeated persuasion from my mother, we both decided to return to Bengaluru. We paid Rs 6,500 to the cab driver including toll charges, to return home.” This is more than thrice the cost of a Chair Car ticket on VB from Bengaluru to Chennai, which is Rs 977.
K Suresh, vice-president of Chennai-based Wealth South Head, “After our train reached Katpadi, at least half the passengers on board refused to alight as we felt that if buses could run to Chennai, trains could too. There were vociferous arguments inside the train for over an hour between us and four TTEs.
It was dark and raining heavily outside. Many of us, including women, would have to hunt for accommodation at Katpadi. We stood our ground and finally, officials agreed to run the train till Arakkonam. Our train left by 9pm.” After reaching there, it was decided to take it up to Chennai Beach station. An official said, “Hi-tech buses were used to transport those from the train who wanted to go to Chennai at their own cost.”
Replying to a query on how passengers could force the train to operate, Divisional Railway Manager, Chennai, B Vishwanath Eerya told TNIE, “In the Railways, safety is our priority. No one can force us to run the train, risking safety. There was a proposal to terminate it at Katpadi. It was later changed due to technical reasons.”
CANCELLED TRAINS RESTORED
Bengaluru: The following trains cancelled due to Michaung cyclone in Chennai have been restored by the South Central Railway. They are: Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal - Nagercoil (Train no. 17235) starting on December 6); Nagercoil-SMVT -Nagercoil on December 7 and SMVT-Kakinada on December 8.