CHENNAI: Suburban services on platforms 10 and 11 at the Egmore railway station resumed on Friday following the completion of redevelopment works, two days ahead of the scheduled date of April 5.
With this, the temporary suburban timetable in force since February 27 will be withdrawn. The restored schedule brings back full-day suburban operations, with services running from around 3.50 am till 1 am at midnight.
Peak-hour frequency, which was nearly halved during the service suspension, returned to regular intervals of 5-10 minutes on the busy Beach-Tambaram stretch.
Services will also run through to Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram and Arakkonam, with regular stoppages restored and trains returning to their usual platforms. The regular Sunday timetable, with its typically lower frequency, will come into effect from Sunday.
The disruption over the past six weeks had significantly affected commuters, especially those travelling from the southern suburbs such as Tambaram and Chengalpattu.
With platforms 10 and 11 shut, several suburban trains were diverted to platforms 5 and 6 and other available lines, resulting in heavy crowding during peak hours. Passengers faced heavily crowded trains and longer wait times as trains operated at reduced frequency.
The diversion of services also affected punctuality, as simultaneous arrivals and departures could not be maintained, leading to delays through the day.
A traffic and power block had been in place from February 20 to April 5 to facilitate works on the two suburban platforms. During this period, the Railways carried out foundation works for key structures, including foot overbridges, a departure concourse and installation of roofs.
Though the Southern Railway announced that platforms 10 and 11 are ready for operations, roofing has not been fully installed in sections and access to platforms via the footbridge near the main entrance is under construction.