CHENNAI: Southern Railway, which has recently come under fire from passengers and political parties for mismanagement in train operation in the Chennai Beach–Chengalpattu section since February 20, on Wednesday announced that MRTS services between Velachery and St. Thomas Mount will commence from March 10.
The announcement from the Southern Railway came after the national transporter slashed the train services from 204 to 115 in the Chennai Beach–Chengalpattu section, causing hardship to lakhs of passengers and drawing sharp criticism from the ruling DMK, Congress, CPM and other parties. Earlier, the railways announced a cut in the number of services from February 20 to April 5 to facilitate redevelopment works at Chennai Egmore and also shifted operations from slow lines to express lines.
In a statement, Southern Railway said the commissioning of the Velachery–St. Thomas Mount MRTS section from March 10 will significantly enhance peak-hour connectivity between Tambaram and Chennai Beach via St. Thomas Mount. During the block period, passengers from Chengalpattu, Tambaram and other southwestern suburbs travelling to Beach, Fort and Chennai Central can switch to MRTS at St. Thomas Mount instead of proceeding towards Chennai Egmore, where delays have increased due to the diversion of trains from fast to slow lines.
The five-km MRTS extension had been delayed since 2008 owing to land acquisition issues, multiple litigations, metro alignment challenges and other factors.
According to an official statement, 20 additional bus trips will be operated from Tambaram railway station to Beach station via the Secretariat between 6.40 am and 9.40 am with a bus every seven minutes. Similarly, 20 return trips will be operated from 5 pm to 8 pm at seven-minute intervals from Chennai Beach to Tambaram.
These buses will halt at MTC bus stops of Tambaram Sanatorium, Chromepet, Pallavaram, Tirusulam, Guindy, Ezhilagam, Secretariat and Broadway. Passengers holding valid railway tickets and season passes can travel on these buses without paying additional fare.
Additionally, five 15-car local trains will be operated on fast lines between Tambaram and Chennai Beach during morning and evening peak hours, with stoppages at Mambalam, Guindy, Chennai Egmore and Chennai Beach, the statement added.
