CHENNAI: Cancellation of EMUs for maintenance work on Friday between Singaperumal Koil and Chengalpattu affected thousands of passengers, who are fully dependent on suburban rail services for their daily commute.
Commuters fumed over lack of proper prior announcement about cancellations, and accused the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) of being lackadaisical in arranging extra buses as an alternative.
The maintenance work on the Egmore-Villupuram railway line was carried out between 9 am and 1 pm in the Singaperumal Koil-Chengalpattu section. Following this, many trains running from Beach-Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram-Beach, and Chengalpattu-Beach were cancelled, and some were converted into short-distance cut-service trains.
“Usually railways announce cancellations two days early but this time there was no proper information given. No announcements were given at the key stations like Guindy, Mambalam, Tambaram, and Chromepet. Also, MTC did not operate any extra buses on Friday,” rued a commuter.
Hundreds of commuters were stranded in Tambaram, Guduvanchery, Urapakkam, Maraimalai Nagar, Chromepet, Pallavaram, and Chengalpattu stations. Trains and the usual buses were overcrowded.
While it’s common for trains to be cancelled for maintenance, commuters pointed out that the railway should inform the public ahead of time and make alternative transport arrangements. “Sudden cancellations without any proper notice are not acceptable. The railway authorities must plan this better and handle it more efficiently in the future,” stated another commuter.