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

The chaos and delays faced by the suburban train network led to a spike in Chennai Metro Rail’s ridership on Friday.

Commuters say the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) must improve the frequency of trains, at least for this month, to help them travel comfortably.

To facilitate work to redevelop the Egmore railway station, the number of suburban train services between Chennai Beach and Tambaram, and Chengalpattu sections have been reduced from 204 to 160 for 45 days (till April 5).

The delay in services and overcrowding of trains in the suburban network led to many passengers switching over to the CMRL system, wherever the stations of both networks are closely located. 

The Chennai Metro Rail’s data show that 3.99 lakh passengers travelled on Friday as against the usual 3.6 lakh-3.7 lakh.

Three Chennai Metro Rail stations — Guindy, Chennai Central, and Chennai International Airport — where the suburban stations are in proximity, witnessed a surge in the number of passengers.

The Chennai Central Metro Station on Friday saw a massive influx of passengers, with a total of 37,144 people using the station, in contrast to the usual footfall of nearly 28,000-30,000 people.

Similarly, the Guindy station recorded a ridership of 21,260 as against the usual 16,000-17,000. Chennai International Airport Metro Station too saw an increase by nearly 5,000 passengers — from the usual footfall of 18,000, the station saw 23,385 passengers on Friday.

To manage the crowd, the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) introduced two trains on Friday, a staffmember said.

Commuters said the CMRL should operate more trains and increase the frequency till April 5.

P. Viswanathan, a resident of Chitlapakkam, said: “I went to the Sanatorium station on Friday afternoon to board the suburban train, but there were delays. Hence, I returned home, and after a few hours, decided to opt for the Chennai Metro Rail system fearing that the suburban trains would get delayed again. I took a train from the Chennai Airport station and travelled to the High Court station. The CMRL network too was crowded. I hope the authorities increase the frequency of CMRL trains for the benefit of commuters, for at least this 45-day period.”

But the CMRL has already indicated that they cannot improve the frequency without additional trains. Only in November last year did they float bids to procure 28 six-coach trains. “We cannot improve the frequency. As such, in the Alandur-Washermanpet stretch, we are running trains once every three minutes. When there is a surge in footfall, we introduce one or two trains to clear the crowd,” a source said.