Tambaram rly station unfriendly for old, disabled as free aid not available

The 62-year-old Asmthunisha found it difficult to walk through the long stretch of platform 7 at Tambaram Railway Station to reach the exit. Even after looking for a trolley car or a passenger buggy for more than half an hour, she could only seek help of a porter’s trolley to take her and her 6-year-old grandson till the exit after paying Rs 400.

Though Southern Railway assured battery car service at the third largest railway terminal in the city, basic facilities for differently abled are lacking. The commuters on platform 5,6,7 and 8 are forced to pay at least Rs 400- 500 to avail porter trolley to reach the exit from the platform.

An RTI application sourced by A Sathik Basha, a resident of Medavakkam revealed that the Southern Railways are yet to initiate battery car service at the station.

Another long pending woe of the elderly and physically challenged people is the non-availability of lift on both the sides of the station. Even after various requests, the Tambaram railway station has a trolley path along with the availability of its shares only on one side of the station. Physically challenged commuters find it difficult to access the railway station for the lack of lifts and are forced to use stairs.

When contacted, Divisional Railway Manager P Mahesh assured that the battery car services at the Tambaram Railway Station would be revived and the installation of lifts was underconsideration.