Commuter inconvenience: No safety or security: Kathivakkam station cries for overbridge or cops

Hundreds of passengers who have to move from one platform to the other at Kathivakkam railway station are forced to walk on the track, as there is no overbridge connecting the platforms. The public announcement system is not operational here, while the toilets remain under lock and key, rendering them useless for the people. What is worse, the station in-charge does not know the timing of the trains.

According to the sources, there are no personnel from the Railway Police Force (RPF) at the station – they visit only once a month to sign the register. Officials say this is because there are no crimes reported in the railway station. The only time that the station premise has police presence is during elections and festivals.

But regular commuters do not agree to the contention. “The station premise is not safe for women after 6 pm. We had requested authorities to post police personnel here. But they say compared to other stations, there are no crimes reported here. So there is no need to deploy police here,” said Srinivasan M, a residentof Ennore.

As there is no overbridge connecting the platforms, the commuters say they are forced to walk on the track – a difficult task, particularly the elderly passengers. “There is no gate to stop those walking on the tracks and there are no police personnel to stop or warn them. If the arrival of trains is announced, it would at least warn the people to be alert and wait till it passes. We had raised these issues with the station in-charge but nothing has been done so far,”added Srinivasan.

These only few of the issues that the passengers are facing. There are toilets for men and women, but they are always kept locked. The water tap is not fixed, forcing the commuters to either carry water bottles or purchase packaged drinking water. In the absence of waste bins, commuters are often found throwing waste haphazardly thus littering the premise. Such is the situation that there is not even a name board at the entrance ofKathivakkam station.

“There are trains once in 20 minutes only during the peak hours. Otherwise, we will have to wait for at least an hour. As there is no bus facility from here to my house at night, I don’t have any option other than waiting for an hour to catch the train,” rued Haripriya V, a resident of Tollgate.

The nearest bus stop is more than one kilometre away, which the passengers have to cover on foot – or spend money for autorickshaw. The station is not disabled-friendly and does not have any ramps. Due to this, differently-abled passengers have to struggle to get to the platform crossing the track or using the stairs.

When asked about these complaints, the station in-charge at Kathivakkam said senior officials have charted plans to build an overbridge soon. “There is no schedule for the arrival of trains, so we cannot make the announcement. Also, washrooms for the public are being constructed. Once it is finished, it will be kept open round-the-clock.”