CHENNAI: Suburban EMU services in the Chennai beach - Tambaram -Chengalpattu corridor will run at reduced frequency for 45 days from February 20 to April 5, as Southern Railway takes platforms 10 and 11 at Chennai Egmore out of service for redevelopment works.
With suburban operations shifting from dedicated Platforms 10 and 11 to express-line Platforms 5 and 6, the division said it cannot maintain the present service level of about 204 trains a day at Egmore. During the block, this will drop to 164 services.
The steepest reduction will be in the Chennai beach - Tambaram services. Its down services will fall from 47 to 25 and up services from 47 to 17. In the Chennai beach- Chengalpattu stretch, services will see a dip from about 36-37 to 30 in the down direction and from 36 to 33 in the up direction.
“To partly ease the drop, some trains will be short-run between Egmore and Tambaram”, said Sailendra Singh, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Chennai Division. But, he confirmed it is “not technically feasible” to run services at existing frequency or operate shuttle trains between Chennai Beach and Egmore. The division maintained that the overall suburban network will continue to function, with the main disruption limited to this stretch. Additionally, Rameswaram-bound Setu express will also be moved from Egmore to Tambaram.
The current disruption is due to the ongoing Egmore station redevelopment project. A large airport-style roof canopy is being built over the platforms, requiring deep foundation columns. Platforms 10 and 11 will reopen after the block, followed by about a week to stabilise operations. In the longer term, the redevelopment will include segregation of arrival and departure flows and a new foot overbridge with escalators and lifts to improve passenger handling.
With regard to safety questions and curbing intruder access, officials said CCTV installation is being taken up in phases at select stations and no timeline has been set for a wider rollout. There is also no immediate plan to introduce automatic door-closing systems in EMU trains, though such systems may be considered in the future, similar to those being introduced in Mumbai.