Rail users seek safety fencing, addl stoppage time for express trains at Tiruvallur station

CHENNAI: Tiruvallur rail passengers have appealed to the Southern Railway to construct a fence between the express train platforms to prevent passengers from entering trains from the non-boarding side and to provide additional stoppage time at the station for the Garudatri and Yelagiri Express.

Platforms one and two of Tiruvallur railway station have been handling 11 pairs of express trains. Train no 16203 Garudadri Express from Chennai to Tirupati and Train no 16089 Yelagiri Express from Chennai to Jolarpet are highly patronised trains, which have a stoppage at this station.

“Many passengers deboard at Tiruvallur. Even though the stoppage time is two minutes, trains do not halt for exactly two minutes. Only after deboarding all the passengers could they alight the suburban trains. As the halting time is not sufficient, passengers resort to the non-platform sides of the tracks to board these trains. The passengers who wait on platform one jump onto the tracks to board the train on the non-platform side as soon as the train arrives on platform two. Passengers do this often, despite knowing it is dangerous,” said Y Jayapaulraj, state secretary, Consumer Confederation of India, and a resident of Tiruvallur.

“Train no 16089 Yelagiri Express arrives at platform two at around 6.45 pm. At the same time, Train no 20608 Vande Bharat Express that runs from Mysuru to Chennai Central crosses Tiruvallur station through track one at very high speed. A huge number of passengers board the Yelagiri Express from the non-platform side at Tiruvallur. Public safety is put at risk, as it might lead to accidents. To prevent this, full-length fencing must be constructed in between tracks one and two at the station,” said K Baskar, secretary of Tiruvallur Railway Passengers Association.

“The halting time of both Garudatri and Yelagiri express must be increased to three minutes to ensure safe boarding of all passengers. Railway officials should assess the situation at Tiruvallur during peak hours in the evening,” Baskar added.

When contacted, a senior official attached to the Chennai division of Southern Railway said, “The request could be taken into consideration after inspecting the technical aspects of constructing a fence. But according to the railway rules, jumping through the tracks is a punishable offense. Passengers are requested to use the escalator and foot over bridges available in the Tiruvallur station.”