Suburban train services on the Gummidipoondi section were disrupted for more than three hours after a large number of commuters demanding operation of additional services began protesting during peak hours in the morning on Friday. They were agitated by the Southern Railway operating few services, especially during the morning and evening peak hours on the north Chennai section.
S. Purushothaman, a resident of Kanniga Nagar in Ponneri, said north Chennai, despite having a large working class population, had poor public transport facilities, lacking sufficient Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) buses and suburban train services. Particularly after the lockdown, residents have been facing severe hardships to reach their workplaces in the city and so they depend more on suburban trains as the ticket fares in buses are costly. In this situation, the Southern Railway had been operating limited workmen special trains.
On Friday, commuters gathered together and organised a protest to highlight their grievances. Adding to their woes was the “cancellation” of train services due to track development work being carried out on the section.
ADVERTISEMENT
Officials give assurance
A senior official of Southern Railway said the agitation, which lasted for three hours from 9 a.m., was finally withdrawn after officials, including the Additional Divisional Railway Manager, rushed to the Ponneri railway station and assured the protesters that train services would be increased.
More than six trains towards the Central railway station and three trains towards Gudur were affected by the agitation.
ADVERTISEMENT
A few express trains were also delayed for a few hours during the agitation, he added.
Currently, Southern Railway operates a total of 90 workmen specials on the Chennai-Gummidipoondi section, with services available every 20 to 30 minutes during peak hours.