CHENNAI: In a bid to fulfil one of the long-pending demands of North Chennai suburban passengers, Southern Railway has decided to construct third and fourth lines over a 25 km stretch between Athipattu Pudhunagar and Gummidipundi.
The absence of the additional lines has been delaying suburban train operations in the Chennai-Gummidipundi section by 40 to 45 minutes, causing hardship to thousands of passengers every day. The construction wing of the railway has recently invited tenders for laying the two tracks from Athipattu to Gummidipundi.
The project is estimated to cost Rs 285.6 crore, and is expected to take 24 months for completion from the date of awarding the contract. The project is planned to be launched in three to four months. The Chennai-Athipattu-Gummidipundi-Gudur section is one of the busiest routes in the country, handling suburban/MEMU trains, express services, and goods trains round the clock.
Due to limited track capacity, trains often compete for signals in both directions. The Chennai division caters to nearly 90,000 passengers a day with a total of 84 services operating on the Chennai-Gummidipundi section.
Third and fourth lines were laid in phases between 2012 and 2023 on the 21-km stretch from Chennai Central to Athipattu. However, these additional lines have largely been used for freight trains rather than suburban operations.
According to residents, track capacity has not been augmented in line with population growth in the northern parts of Chennai for nearly three decades. As a result, trains take around two hours to cover the 46 km distance from Chennai to Gummidipundi, whereas commuters on the Chennai-Chengalpattu and Chennai-Arakkonam routes cover similar distances in 70 minutes.
“After Athipattu, suburban trains are often made to halt at stations to allow express trains to pass, which also increases safety risks,” said S Suresh Babu, a resident-activist. Railway officials said the track augmentation will substantially improve train handling capacity and significantly reduce delays. “Some train services are currently curtailed at night to facilitate maintenance work,” an official added.