Chennai floods 2021: Train passengers stranded as tracks submerge under water

As bridges also got inundated between Egmore and Park, suburban train service was cancelled between Chennai Beach and Egmore till 4 pm.
People wade through a waterlogged road following heavy rains at Vyasarpadi in Chennai. (Photo| Debadatta Mallick, EPS)
People wade through a waterlogged road following heavy rains at Vyasarpadi in Chennai. (Photo| Debadatta Mallick, EPS)

CHENNAI: Thousands of passengers remained stranded at various railway stations in and around the city as over 30 trains were delayed by 60 minutes to three hours after tracks submerged due to heavy rains on Sunday. 

As bridges also got inundated between Egmore and Park, suburban train service was cancelled between Chennai Beach and Egmore till 4 pm. However, buses operated unaffected. All the long-distance buses operated up to CMBT and other major bus stands. MTC buses also operated.

As the fast lines between Basin Bridge and Chennai Central were fully submerged, trains originating from Central station initially operated at 20 kmph. As rains continued, Central-bound express trains were not allowed beyond Perambur.

North India-bound long-distance trains -- Alleppey-Dhanbad Special, Kochuveli-Gorakhpur Special, Korba-Kochuveli Special, and Dhanbad-Alleppey Special -- were diverted via Perambur and Vyasarpadi skipping Central station.

Similarly, Central-bound trains from Bengaluru, Mangaluru, and Coimbatore were short-terminated at Tiruvallur, Avadi, and Perambur. They started their return journeys from the same stations. Trains from Hyderabad and Howrah on the Gudur-Chennai route were diverted to Beach and Tiruvottiyur, and originated from the same destination after two-three hours of delay.

The Chennai Egmore-bound trains from Tiruchy, Madurai, and Thoothukudi were stopped at Tambaram, Chengalpattu, and other en-route stations. As a result, over 30 trains were delayed by several hours.  Meanwhile, over 1,000 passengers of Mangaluru Express were forced to take suburban trains after the train was short terminated at Tiruvallur.

S Nandhan of Madipakkam said, "The train reached Tiruvallur around 2.15 pm and many of us travelled by suburban trains hungry as there was no food at the railway station." Another passenger K Rajan said there was no attendant in the train beyond Katpadi. "Toilets choked, emanating a foul smell and there was no catering as well," he added.  

All the suburban train services in Chennai- Arakkonam, Tambaram-Egmore, Gummidipundi-Central, and Beach and Velachery were delayed by 30 minutes. "The suburban train services between Egmore and Beach were restored only after 4 pm. But no express train was cancelled," said a railway official.

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