The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Commuters left in the lurch

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 25, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Commuters left in the lurch

Staff Reporter

Time to go for a crossover facility, say officials

STRANDED: Three EMU trains stuck at St. Thomas Mount station on Saturday morning following an accident between Saidapet and Mambalam stations. — PHOTO: K. PICHUMANI

CHENNAI: It was a strange sight on Saturday morning. Three electrical multiple unit (EMU) trains were struck on the same track near the St. Thomas Mount station.

The disruption caused by an accident on the track between Saidapet and Mambalam stations during peak hours had a chain reaction for over two hours on the normally busy Tambaram-Chennai Beach suburban section.

The driver of a mini-truck crashed through the compound wall along the track of

of Govindappa Street behind Srinivasa Theatre at West Mambalam — a dead-end lane.

The incident, which occurred around 9.45 a.m., threw the entire train services into disarray. A number of electrical multiple units had to be stopped between Saidapet and Meenambakkam stations. Commuters and railway staff wringed their hands helplessly.

It took the railway administration about half an hour to resume train service on the main line. A commuter said there would be heavy rush at the station, even if a train was late by five minutes. With the train services being suspended for half an hour and three trains stranded, chaos prevailed.

A railway official said that commuters would not have been affected, if a crossover facility had been provided between the suburban lines at the St. Thomas Mount station. In the earlier metre gauge system, a turn-back facility, which allows trains to switch tracks, was available. But, the broad gauge system does not have such a facility.

The railway administration had promised to provide the facility at St. Thomas Mount, but it was yet to materialise, the railway official said. He pointed out to the advantages of providing a link between the main and suburban lines.

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