For many months now, commuters travelling by Chennai Metro Rail have had trouble knowing the train timings and destinations, as the passenger information display system (PIDS) has been malfunctioning at several stations.
Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) officials said PIDS continues to malfunction at stations such as Government Estate, AG-DMS, Meenambakkam, Chennai Central, Alandur, LIC and Thousand Lights. At the concourse level, the PIDS displays the destination and the time of a train’s departure, whereas at the platform level, it shows the destination and the number of minutes in which a train will arrive.
Siemens provided PIDS for all the 32 stations of the phase I project.
“We have been consistently telling the contractor that PIDS conks off every now and then. When it doesn’t work, how will a passenger know on which platform a train to a terminal station, like Chennai Airport, Washermanpet, Chennai Central or St. Thomas Mount, will arrive? How will a commuter know when the train will arrive? We are tired of raising the issue time and again with the contractor. It’s high time the contractor sets it right,” an official said.
Last-mile information
Besides, at many stations, where feeder services for last-mile connectivity, like share cars or share autos, are available, the PIDS also displays this information along with the routes the vehicles will take.
“So when the PIDS doesn’t work, a commuter will not know about the feeder service or its route. The worst part is that even the new machines are having glitches at recently opened stations, like Government Estate and LIC. How can a few months-old system have such problems,” he asked.
When contacted, a spokesperson for Siemens told The Hindu : “Siemens has been providing all necessary support to Chennai Metro Rail Limited to ensure there are no interruptions and delays to its train operations.”
