Railway Board says no stop for Tejas Exp at Tambaram, passengers disappointed

Railway Board says no stop for Tejas Exp at Tambaram, passengers disappointed

Komal.Gautham@timesgroup.com

Chennai:24.03.2021 

Residents demanding a stop at Tambaram railway station for the Chennai-Madurai Tejas Express are disappointed as the the Railway Board, according to an RTI reply, has not approved the proposal.

The train which originates at Egmore, with annual footfalls of 4.5 crore, will, however, stop at Dindigul. Tambaram records footfalls of nearly 7 crore annually, next only to Chennai Beach station, with footfalls of 9.5 crore every year, on the city’s suburban station network.

Southern Railway, in a series of RTI replies, said that in June 2019 the chief passenger transport manager wrote to M S Bhatia, Railway Board executive director (coaching), saying the member (traffic) of the Railway Board had during a visit to the city suggested a halt for the train at Tambaram. The Southern Railway general manager then submitted a recommendation, saying there would be an increase of only 5 minutes in the onward journey, but there would be no delay in the overall running time.

But as per an RTI reply dated March 18, 2021, from M S Bhatia, the railways’ apex body did not approve it. “It only approved the stoppage at Dindigul but not at Tambaram,” said Dayanand Krishnan, a resident of Chitlapakkam. “I sent many RTI applications, seeking information on the recommendations and whether meetings were held to discuss the issue. They replied that no meetings were held. We have no idea why the stoppage was not approved. ”

Several residents have been demanding the halt for more than a year since the service began. Varathan Ananthappan, a resident of Madipakkam said, “There is huge patronage for this train. Now, we need to book cabs that cost us Rs 1,000 more than the ticket fare. In New Delhi, the Tejas Express stops at Ghaziabad, just 13km away, and in Mumbai, it stops at Thane, 35km away. Then why not here?”

A Southern Railway said the reason for the Railway Board not approving the proposal could not be ascertained. Another official said the issue would be taken up again after the state assembly election process was over.