CHENNAI: Suburban services returned to normal frequency at Platforms 10 and 11 in Egmore railway station on Friday, bringing relief to thousands of daily commuters who had been dealing with irregular and delayed operations in recent weeks.
With trains now running as per the regular timetable, commuters said the biggest change was the return of predictable frequency on the Chennai Beach–Tambaram stretch, particularly during peak hours. Services from early morning hours resumed in quick succession, reducing waiting time and crowding.
“Trains are coming at 10-15 min intervals like before. I’ve been travelling from Egmore for the past 12 years and the last few weeks have been very tough to travel. There was a lot of crowd. Today it feels normal again,” said Manikandan, a regular commuter to Perungulathur.
Another passenger, S Revathi, who commutes daily from Pallavaram, said the restoration has eased both travel time and uncertainty. “Earlier, some trains would get delayed or terminated midway. Now the trains are running properly. It’s a great relief,” she smiled.
Officials of Southern Railway had restored services two days ahead of schedule after completing redevelopment works to an operational level. The return to the regular timetable has also brought back full-day operations and dense peak-hour frequency across the suburban network.
However, even as operations normalised, the platforms themselves remain a work in progress. Roofing work is still underway across sections of Platforms 10 and 11, leaving parts of the platforms exposed.
Access continues to be a concern for passengers, particularly from the main entrance side. The foot overbridge connecting this side remains under construction, forcing commuters to take longer routes to reach the platforms. “For more than 40 days, we struggled a lot. Even school students suffered due to over-crowding. It’s good that they have opened it now, but reaching the platform is still difficult,” say commuters who demanded the works be finished soon.
With train operations stabilised, commuters said they now expect the remaining infrastructure works to be completed quickly to match the restored level of service.