Arakkonam yard work during summer vacation affects commuters

“Why undertake such a major work during the busiest time of the year? Traffic peaks only during the summer vacation and the officers chose that time to undertake the work,” said an engineering staff requesting anonymity. 

Thousands of passengers aboard nearly 20 express trains were stranded on Saturday near Arakkonam, Katpadi, Sholingur, Melappakkam and Tiruttani stations without proper food and water would have not suffered if they had done the work in March when students were busy with exams and their parents engrossed in their ward’s exam preparation. “Train traffic is very lean in March, resulting in trains running with poor patronage. If they had cancelled or rescheduled trains in that period, less people would have been affected,” remarked an officer in the commercial department of SR. 

Engineers with the knowledge of the yard and signalling works at Arakkonam, revealed that it was not just travelling public, but also the field workers of railways who had struggled due to the badly timed yard work. “Workers engaged in moving the heavy rails, sleepers and realigning the yard were made to slog in sweltering heat. In fact, the pace of the work was slowed by the testing weather condition. The work was long overdue,” said an engineering officer, who could not comprehend why the officers chose to take up the work at the wrong time. 

“Indeed, the work will increase the section speed from 30kmph to 105kmph at Arakkonam, which will reduce the journey time of trains in future, but why during the busiest time of the year? It has been done with a good intention, but badly planned,” the officer conceded.