Circular EMU, a boon for Tiruvallur residents going to Chengalpattu

The time reduction happens despite the circuitous route reducing the distance between Tiruvallur and Chengalpattu by only 9 km as commuters from Tiruvallur no longer need to take a train to Moore Market Complex, change over and board another train at Park station or buy separate tickets to reach Chengalpattu. Instead, the entire journey would be covered by a single train.

Unlike the Tiruvallur-Chengalpattu journey via MMC and Park, which has around 50 stoppages, there are only fewer stops on the new route via Arakkonam. “Between Tiruvallur and Chengalpattu via Arakkonam there are only 27 stops. The distance has also been reduced by 9 km and the time taken to changeover from MMC to Park and waiting time for trains at Park station has been saved. Altogether, a passenger will easily save up to one hour,” says K Baskar, member of Divisional Railway Users Consultative Committee, Chennai.

The new route would also help people travelling to far off southern districts like Madurai, Egmore and Thoothukudi to board express trains at Chengalpattu instead of travelling all the way to Egmore besides saving an hour for the journey.

However, the biggest stumbling block for commuters would be non-issuance of unreserved tickets from Tiruvallur to towns beyond Madurai via Arakkonam. “Stations on the new route have not been included in the UTS system. People of Tiruvallur can book unreserved ticket directly to Madurai only. If a person must travel to Tirunelveli or Nagercoil from Tiruvallur he or she would only be issued a ticket via Egmore though he can travel directly to Chengalpattu via Arakkonam,” Baskar added.

“I have raked up the issue. The distance between the stations on the circuitous route to far off towns must be calculated and included in the system. Once the stations are updated, people from Tiruvallur region would be able to take direct UTS to southern towns,” he reasoned.