It was a short ride, feels R. Pavithra, as she comes out of the VOC Park toy train with her toddler, who yearns for more. Most of the children pester their parents to take them to the park every weekend for a ride on the train.
But the train is in a state of total neglect. As for the cabins, most of the windowpanes are missing. The doors are ready to collapse. There are only makeshift benches instead of seats and the tattered metal flooring exposes the ground below. The entire ride consists of two trips around the animal cages and through a tunnel whose plastering has come off at many places.
Damage to the train caused by the public is evident in the scribbling and littering all around. The VOC Park Station would do with a bout of cleaning and a fresh coat of paint. The station master doubles up as a salesman by shouting to draw in the crowd during week days, which sees very few patrons.
“It was very cramped inside the cabin and I could not enjoy the ride”, says S. Deepika. Passengers are often packed like sardines in the train, unmindful of the discomfort.
"The ride is bumpy and my favourite clown on the engine has become dirty", says D. Sanchil Madonna, a 10-year old.
Corporation Commissioner T.K. Ponnusamy told The Hindu that steps would be taken immediately to carry out repairs and refurbish the train to make the children enjoy their train ride.
