Anti-socials become active at night as RPF leaves by 7 pm in Tiruvottiyur

Not only passengers, even the railway officials are affected due to thefts. The railway officials used to tie up the coaches stationed in the station using chains. As these chains were stolen several times, they have stopped tying the coaches. Even the move to ensure protection to prevent theft was of no help, they said. The officials added that they are ready to answer the senior officers if pulled up for not tying the coaches instead of losing the chains often. 

“The station is not safe for passengers after 6 pm. The Railway police stay only till 7 pm and after that, there is no security for us. We have asked to the officials to ensure security till the last train leaves the station. However, they are not bothered about the issue,” said Ravikumar N, a passenger from Ennore. 

The toilets for men as well as women are under construction. There is only one toilet currently in use, but it is locked the whole day. If the passengers want to use it, they should ask the station master to unlock the toilet. 

“Sometimes, the officials don’t make announcements before arrival of a train. If we question them, they will then make the announcement and say that they could not do it earlier due to some technical problems,” said Surya L, a passenger from Gummidipoondi. 

Passengers must walk for a kilometre to reach the nearest bus stop or autorickshaw stand. There is only one dustbin kept in the station next to a coffee shop. Due to lack of enough dustbins, the public is forced to litter. The station is also not disabled-friendly with no ramps. Differently abled passengers have no choice but to struggle to enter the station using the stairs to reach the platform. Though there is a foot overbridge in the station to avoid crossing the railway track, many passengers prefer to cross the tracks instead of using them. 

Speaking to DT Next, Tiruvottiyur railway station master said, “There were three accidents last month due to mobile phone robbery. If a robber hits the person who is speaking on the phone, the passenger falls from the train and dies or gets injured. Though the RPF works two shifts, there is no 

solution to the issue. If there is protection for 24 hours, we might see some changes. When we reported the issue to the 

senior officials, they cite shortage of police.”