CHENNAI: DMK’s Central Chennai MP Dayanidhi Maran on Wednesday said that he had spoken to the general manager of the Southern Railways about the EMU disruption caused by the closure of platforms at Egmore railway station for renovation works.
Speaking to the media after meeting Southern Railway General Manager RN Singh, he said nearly 60% of services between Tambaram and Beach station had been cancelled, leading to severe inconvenience to daily commuters.
He said the issue had been flagged in the media and raised directly with the GM. “The Railways have assured that additional coaches will be attached to trains. The impact of this measure is expected to be felt from Monday. I am hopeful that the problems faced by commuters during peak hours will ease. If required, we’ll take it up with the Railway Minister,” he said.
South Chennai MP Thamizhachi Thangapandian has written to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw seeking urgent intervention to mitigate the hardship caused by the reduction and cancellation of EMU services owing to the Egmore station works. In her letter, she said the number of EMUs had progressively come down from 204 to 164 and further to 115, with only 26 shuttle services introduced to manage peak-hour demand.
“Maintaining the curtailed schedule until April 5 has imposed severe strain on commuters. Passengers travelling from Chengalpattu and parts of south Chennai were spending up to two additional hours a day on commuting,” she added.
“Office-goers are reaching workplaces late while students are struggling to attend classes and exams during the ongoing board and semester exam season. Many commuters are being forced to switch to costlier alternatives, increasing travel expenses and stress.”
She urged the Railways to restore additional EMU services, especially during peak hours, increase the frequency of shuttle services and put in place temporary alternative arrangements to ease congestion until normal services are resumed.