Poor mobile network at Tambaram railway station, harrowing time for commuters
Lack of separate route for suburban and non-suburban travellers leads to overcrowding
Updated on:
31 Mar 2025, 9:25 am
CHENNAI: Imagine entering a railway station to board a train and being stranded without mobile connectivity — no signals, no data, unable to contact anybody or even buy food using digital payment apps.
A 35-year-old woman who entered Tambaram Railway Station on a Friday last month to board the Sengottai-bound Silambu Express had a harrowing time, unable to call her relatives who had boarded the train at Egmore, or even purchase snacks for her six-year-old child.
Hundreds of passengers faced a similar ordeal a day before an auspicious (Muhurtham) day, which coincided with an extended holiday weekend. An erratic public announcement system only added to their woes.
Though Southern Railway officials acknowledged the issue and assured that they would coordinate with telecom providers and restore connectivity, the root of the problem lies deeper – the railway’s inability to separate suburban and non-suburban travellers on the Tambaram-Chengalpattu route.
Chennai city gets the highest floating population from Chengalpattu, Maduranthagam, Villupuram, Vriddhachalam and villages near Chengalpattu and Kallakuruchi districts. These passengers return to their natives during weekends and holidays. A chunk of commuters bound for Chengalpattu mostly board express trains instead of local trains, resulting in packed reserved coaches and dangerously congested unreserved ones, forcing passengers to travel hanging on footboards.
Nirmala Rajendran, a resident of Madipakkam said, “I had to return the snacks I bought for my child because GPay wasn’t working. My relatives had boarded at Egmore, and I wanted to join them at Tambaram. But the FOB was jam-packed and I could barely move. With no mobile network, I could not even check if they were on the train.”
She further recalled, “Even the ATMs near the station weren’t dispensing cash. I had to use whatever little I had for auto-rickshaw fare. There was no coach indicator at the platform and the announcement system only added to the tension.
They announced the Silambu Express’ arrival, but before it arrived, another express train was allowed to pass through leaving everyone at their wits’ end.” Another passenger, S Sivaraj from Pallavaram, said, “I spent 20 minutes trying to buy an unreserved ticket to Vriddhachalam through an automatic ticket vending machine, but the payment wouldn’t go through.
Then, I took my phone outside the station to book through UTS app and it still did not work. When the train arrived, I had no choice other than boarding without a ticket.”
Suburban traveller D Lalith from Tiruvottiyur said, “The ticket counter line stretched all the way till the station entrance. Since I had to catch the last train to Gummidipundi from Chennai Central by 10 pm, I boarded at Tambaram without a ticket.”
Tambaram station receives around 1.8 lakh passengers every day, which swells to 2.2 lakh on weekends and festival seasons. The station’s monthly average earnings stood at Rs 18.4 crore in 2024-25 (till February).
TNIE learnt that Kilambakkam bus terminus faced similar network failures during last Deepavali and other holiday seasons. After the CMDA notified the issue to telecom providers, the connectivity issues were resolved.
Railway station
I had to return the snacks I bought for my child because GPay wasn’t working, says a Madipakkam resident
I spent 20 minutes trying to buy a ticket, but payment didn’t go through, says a Pallavaram resident
Queue was too long and I couldn’t wait for a ticket & risk missing the last train from Central, says a suburban traveller
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