CHENNAI: The Southern Railway has announced a series of special measures to address peak-hour congestion in suburban train services between Tambaram and Chennai Beach stations, following temporary modifications due to redevelopment works at Egmore station.
The changes were necessitated by the temporary closure of Platforms 10 and 11 at Egmore for 45 days from February 20 to facilitate critical construction work as part of the station’s redevelopment.
The reduced suburban train frequency during peak hours led to overcrowding and delays, causing inconvenience to commuters. After closely monitoring the situation over the past five days, the Southern Railway has introduced several proactive measures. Major relief initiatives will come into effect from February 28 (Saturday).
Free special buses during peak hours
To supplement train services, 20 additional Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) bus trips will operate from 6.40 am to 9.40 am from Tambaram to Beach at seven-minute intervals. Similarly, 20 bus trips will run from 5 pm to 8 pm from Beach to Tambaram at seven-minute intervals.
These buses will halt at key stops including Tambaram Sanatorium, Chromepet, Pallavaram, Tirusulam, Guindy, Ezhilagam, Secretariat and Parrys Corner. Valid EMU ticket holders and season pass holders can avail of these services free of cost.
Additional 15-car EMUs
Southern Railway will also operate five additional 15-car EMU services in both morning and evening peak hours on the fast line between Tambaram and Beach.
These services will have limited stoppages at Tambaram, Mambalam, Guindy, Egmore and Beach stations, reducing travel time to 60 minutes compared to the usual 75 minutes for regular EMUs.
Changes in long-distance trains
To facilitate fast-line EMU movements at Egmore during peak hours, the departure of Cholan Express (Train 22675) from Egmore station has been rescheduled to 10.15 am. Additionally, trains 12632 (Nellai Express) and 12661 (Pothigai Express) will terminate and originate at Tambaram instead of Egmore from February 28.
The Southern Railway has also requested the MTC and Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) to operate additional services to support handling of peak-hour passenger traffic.