Students and passengers who depart from and arrive at the Hindu College station, near Pattabiram are facing trouble in crossing the railway tracks, since there is no foot over bridge above the mainline.
Hindu College station is located on the stretch from Chennai Central to Arakkonam Suburban Railway Network, close to the college which has around 6,000 students. Everyday the station witnesses the departure and arrival of hundreds of passengers who include officegoers, students and other general commuters.
All of them are compelled to cross the railway tracks in order to reach the other side of the station, since there is no foot over bridge.
Speaking to City Express, R Chandra Sekaran, a resident of Pattabiram, said, “The foot over bridge that is seen at the station was constructed in the year 2008. But it connects only the first and the second suburban platforms. There is no foot over bridge that connects the suburban platforms with the mainline.” He added, “However, people do not use the foot over bridge to get to the other side of the suburban platforms. Most of the passengers cross the track to reach the adjacent platforms. Also, the passengers have to cross the mainline to reach the other side of the station. The existing foot over bridge does not have an extension above the mainline.”
Talking about how the lack of the foot over bridge facility has been fatal, Sekaran claimed that the station had witnessed many accidents in the past .
The Zonal Railway Consultive Committee official said, “The problem has been brought before us in the past. The railway officials have designed it in such a way that the foot over bridge connects only the first and second platforms of slowline.”
“We have written to the officials concerned and have been raising this issue everytime during the departmental meetings, asking for another foot over bridge in the station that covers the fastline. But till now no action has been taken,” he added.