There are two factors that make Pattabiram, a small town in the city outskirts with a sizeable population of retired defence personnel, known to the outside world. One, the neighbourhood has many defence establishments. Two, as these defence organisations are located close to the railway station, residents of other parts of the city can easily access them.
That brings us to the unique structure of the railway facility. There are two sections: the main Pattabiram station through which commuters can travel to many areas, including Thirunindravur, Tiruvallur and Arakonnam. The other section is called the Pattabiram Sidling Section, which is meant exclusively for defence personnel and their families to travel to places nearby where defence establishments are located.
Though located within the Pattabiram railway station, these two sections seem to be out of two different worlds. While the Pattabiram railway station has been provided with good amenities, the Pattabiram Sidling Station is a picture of neglect.
The Pattabiram Siding section, which was opened in May 1994, lacks basic amenities such as seats with shelters, working water taps, toilets, refreshment stalls and platform lights.
The 800-metres-long concrete platform has only a few open granite slabs for commuters to sit. At present, trees provide shade for commuters. The water taps are defunct. A few dim tubelights are only the source of illumination on this section, which caters to more than 6,000 commuters every day.
In fact, the section can be accessed only via a narrow pathway. The poor maintenance of this section, according to commuters, is the result of it serving only a limited section of people, when compared with the main Pattabiram station. A separate rail line for trains from Chennai Central branches off at Pattabiram railway station and joins another rail line to reach Pattabiram Sidling Section.
“After sunset, it’s dangerous to board trains from the this section as the facility is considerably dark with commuters using torchlights to navigate their way to the main road,” says K. Saraswathi, a commuter from Pattabiram.
Now, the contrast. Against this dismal picture, you have the Pattabiram railway station with a great flow of commuters on its tiled platforms. There are electronic digital timing boards and announcing system, shelters with seating arrangements, better illumination, ticket counters, refreshment stalls and a few policemen. “Efforts will be taken to provide smaller stations with more amenities,” said a railway official.
