Delays in suburban train services lead to a rise in CMRL’s ridership

The chaos and delays faced by the suburban bid web led to a spike successful Chennai Metro Rail’s ridership connected Friday.

Commuters accidental the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) indispensable amended the frequence of trains, astatine slightest for this month, to assistance them question comfortably.

To facilitate enactment to redevelop the Egmore railway station, the fig of suburban bid services betwixt Chennai Beach and Tambaram, and Chengalpattu sections person been reduced from 204 to 160 for 45 days (till April 5).

The hold successful services and overcrowding of trains successful the suburban web led to galore passengers switching implicit to the CMRL system, wherever the stations of some networks are intimately located. 

The Chennai Metro Rail’s information amusement that 3.99 lakh passengers travelled connected Friday arsenic against the accustomed 3.6 lakh-3.7 lakh.

Three Chennai Metro Rail stations — Guindy, Chennai Central, and Chennai International Airport — wherever the suburban stations are successful proximity, witnessed a surge successful the fig of passengers.

The Chennai Central Metro Station connected Friday saw a monolithic influx of passengers, with a full of 37,144 radical utilizing the station, successful opposition to the accustomed footfall of astir 28,000-30,000 people.

Similarly, the Guindy presumption recorded a ridership of 21,260 arsenic against the accustomed 16,000-17,000. Chennai International Airport Metro Station excessively saw an summation by astir 5,000 passengers — from the accustomed footfall of 18,000, the presumption saw 23,385 passengers connected Friday.

To negociate the crowd, the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) introduced 2 trains connected Friday, a staffmember said.

Commuters said the CMRL should run much trains and summation the frequence till April 5.

P. Viswanathan, a nonmigratory of Chitlapakkam, said: “I went to the Sanatorium presumption connected Friday day to committee the suburban train, but determination were delays. Hence, I returned home, and aft a fewer hours, decided to opt for the Chennai Metro Rail strategy fearing that the suburban trains would get delayed again. I took a bid from the Chennai Airport presumption and travelled to the High Court station. The CMRL web excessively was crowded. I anticipation the authorities summation the frequence of CMRL trains for the payment of commuters, for astatine slightest this 45-day period.”

But the CMRL has already indicated that they cannot amended the frequence without further trains. Only successful November past twelvemonth did they interval bids to procure 28 six-coach trains. “We cannot amended the frequency. As such, successful the Alandur-Washermanpet stretch, we are moving trains erstwhile each 3 minutes. When determination is simply a surge successful footfall, we present 1 oregon 2 trains to wide the crowd,” a source said.