The Chennai Central railway station is expected to see huge crowds in the days to come, courtesy the delays caused by heavy rains in central India.
A section of railway tracks on the Nagpur-Wardha line was washed away in the recent downpour, delaying trains connecting Chennai and other southern regions to the north. It is expected to affect all the trains passing through Nagpur Junction.
Railway authorities have asked passengers travelling to the north to check their train timings before leaving for the railway station.
Heavy rains in the Wardha region of Maharashtra washed away the tracks between Sindhi and Tuljapur stations on July 19.
This left come trains stranded. Some trains have been diverted, which has resulted in long delays.
Passengers on long distance trains like Tamil Nadu Express (New Delhi-Chennai), Grand Trunk Express (New Delhi-Chennai) and Sangamithra Express (Patna-Bangalore) are the worst affected due to disruption in the past four days.
On Tuesday, the three trains pulled into Chennai Central six to eight hours behind schedule.
Passengers scheduled to depart for Chennai from Delhi had also received information that their trains would be delayed by up to 13 hours.
All this is expected to create a backlog that could take around a week to clear, railways officials have said.
Meanwhile, traffic resumed on the Nagpur-Wardha section after one of the two lines on the route was restored. The trains, however, have to cross the section at a speed of 10 km per hour.
The delays are yet to take their toll on Chennai Central. But over the coming week, delayed running times on trains to and from North India can expected to be the norm.