CHENNAI: Hundreds of suburban train passengers on the Chennai Beach–Tambaram route faced severe hardship on Saturday evening after a disruption in services due to signal failure.

Vivek, a commuter travelling from Pallavaram to Egmore, said trains were halted between Nungambakkam and Chetpet stations for nearly half an hour, forcing several passengers to get down and walk along the trackside. “The trains were lined up one after another following the issue. Passengers were stranded at several stations,” he said.

Pradeep, another commuter travelling from Perungalathur to Egmore, said the delay was unusually long. “The journey from Tambaram to Egmore normally takes around 40 minutes. But on Saturday, the train took about 1 hour and 15 minutes to reach Egmore,” he said.

When contacted, a Southern Railway official said the disruption was caused by a signal failure triggered by an issue in the display board on the stretch. “The problem was rectified and train services were restored soon,” the official said.