CHENNAI: More than 60,000 people used Chennai Metro Rail on a single day after heavy rains battered the city, crippling the road and rail network, according to a Chennai Metro Rail spokeswoman.
She told City Express that Chennai Metro stations are overcrowded and for the first time on Wednesday, Chennai Metro started round-the-clock services to help those living in inundated areas to reach safer places.
She said that even on Thursday the trains were packed,but not as much as on Wednesday. The spokeswoman said that most of the passengers used the Ekatuthangal and Alandur stretch to reach CMBT.
On Friday, the crowd at the metro stations reduced as the inundation on the roads reduced and the city limped towards normalcy. Most commuters also used the metro services just to see the flooded Adyar station.
“It just gives us a bird’s eye view of the flooded city,” said a traveller.
Chennai Metro Rail also ferried out students from the Vellore Institute of Technology. Many of these students wanted to wait for their friends at the station, but were made to leave due to the Chennai metro Rail regulations. “We have to catch the Grand Trunk Express in the evening. Somehow, we managed to avoid the rains,” said a student.
A family was seen waiting near the station to catch the moffusil bus. “We managed to get away from rain-hit Mudichur, and plan to go to Tiruthani, but we don’t know how to get there,” they said.