Southern Railway records increase in revenue in 2017

The division has also registered 27.2% increase in operation of special trains. It has operated 1,505 special trains this year, as against 1,183 trains during the period in the corresponding year. On the suburban sector, the division has introduced 51 cross sectoral services interconnecting the north-east line and south-west line with the MRTS (mass rapid transit system). Chennai division, which was among the first to support cashless transactions in Indian Railways, has installed 185 POS (point of sale) machines at various stations and booking/reservation offices.

Highlighting its achievements, the division, in a detailed statement issued on Saturday, said the introduction of ‘operation 5 minutes’ has triggered a 40% rise in passenger tickets booked through ATVMs (automatic ticket vending machines) and five fold growth in booking passenger tickets through UTS (unreserved ticketing system) mobile apps. To meet passenger rush, additional UTS counters were opened at Pazhavanthangal, Perambur, Tambaram and Basin Bridge in addition to selling UTS tickets at PRS counters at Chennai Beach, Mambalam, Thirumayilai, Tiruvanmiyur, Avadi, Perambur and Arakkonam railway stations.

On energy front, 8,564 LED lights/fittings of various wattages were provided from April to November 2017 at various stations and railway colonies in the division, resulting in energy savings to the tune of Rs 59.72 lakh. Of the 160 stations, 91 stations have achieved 100% LED conversion thus far, including Chennai Central which leads the rest in the LED lighting program. The division has claimed that it has reduced the connected load by 7,40,904 KW per year by promotion LED lights.