Defunct escalators at MRTS stations irk commuters
Siddharth.Prabhakar@timesgroup.com 20.03.2018
Chennai: The Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) stations are colossal structures and platforms, which are usually on the first or second floor, a climb of at least 40-50 steps. But it seems railway officials want commuters, including senior citizens, to make mandatory the long walk up to take the trains on foot.
Many important stations on the Chennai Beach-Velachery section have escalators or lifts which are out of service quite frequently. For instance, the Thirumailai station in Mylapore has two lifts which have been out of service since August 2017. Railway officials say the maintenance contractor’s term has ended and they are floating a tender again this month. This station houses a Passenger Reservation System (PRS) ticketing system on the first floor apart from the office of the Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL), the engineering public sector unit of Indian Railways.
An internal audit by railway officials last week found that escalators and lifts were not working in Chintadripet and Thiruvanmiyur stations, apart from Thirumailai. “Passenger complaints have been pouring in, which shows the regular patronage on MRTS section has gone up and people want good facilities,” a source said.
Similarly, the escalator in Kasturibai Nagar station, which is a transit point station at Madhya Kailash junction in Adyar, was not working when a TOI photographer visited the facility on Monday evening.
At the Chepauk station, where the escalators were defunct for a long time, a proposal to link the ground floor to the first floor through an escalator is lying in cold storage for many years, say railway sources. Much to the relief of commuters, both pairs of escalators and lifts were in working condition on Monday afternoon.
“It is a regular complaint and shows that MRTS is not treated on a par with other suburban sections by Southern Railway,” said K Baskar, member of Divisional Rail Users Consultative Committee.
Railway officials said they have audited the section recently and have taken cognisance of commuter complaints. “Rectification work is in progress,” said an official.
NAGGING PROBLEM: Senior citizens are forced to take the stairs at Kasturibai Nagar station (in pic) where escalators are on the blink
Siddharth.Prabhakar@timesgroup.com 20.03.2018
Chennai: The Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) stations are colossal structures and platforms, which are usually on the first or second floor, a climb of at least 40-50 steps. But it seems railway officials want commuters, including senior citizens, to make mandatory the long walk up to take the trains on foot.
Many important stations on the Chennai Beach-Velachery section have escalators or lifts which are out of service quite frequently. For instance, the Thirumailai station in Mylapore has two lifts which have been out of service since August 2017. Railway officials say the maintenance contractor’s term has ended and they are floating a tender again this month. This station houses a Passenger Reservation System (PRS) ticketing system on the first floor apart from the office of the Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL), the engineering public sector unit of Indian Railways.
An internal audit by railway officials last week found that escalators and lifts were not working in Chintadripet and Thiruvanmiyur stations, apart from Thirumailai. “Passenger complaints have been pouring in, which shows the regular patronage on MRTS section has gone up and people want good facilities,” a source said.
Similarly, the escalator in Kasturibai Nagar station, which is a transit point station at Madhya Kailash junction in Adyar, was not working when a TOI photographer visited the facility on Monday evening.
At the Chepauk station, where the escalators were defunct for a long time, a proposal to link the ground floor to the first floor through an escalator is lying in cold storage for many years, say railway sources. Much to the relief of commuters, both pairs of escalators and lifts were in working condition on Monday afternoon.
“It is a regular complaint and shows that MRTS is not treated on a par with other suburban sections by Southern Railway,” said K Baskar, member of Divisional Rail Users Consultative Committee.
Railway officials said they have audited the section recently and have taken cognisance of commuter complaints. “Rectification work is in progress,” said an official.
NAGGING PROBLEM: Senior citizens are forced to take the stairs at Kasturibai Nagar station (in pic) where escalators are on the blink
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