The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : What commuters really want

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Sep 12, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

What commuters really want

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, SEPT. 11. Stopping south-bound trains at Tambaram, increasing the frequency of suburban trains, more stringent ticket-checking and better cleanliness were some of the suggestions made by commuters using suburban services.

According to a study by the Statistics postgraduate students of Loyola College, the general compartment occupancy in the suburban trains on the Beach-Tambaram section averaged 60 per cent or above during the assessment days.

The first class compartment occupancy rate was between 48 and 53 per cent.

The trend indicated satisfactory utilisation of train services with most of them being fully crowded.

Though a delay of about 30 minutes was noticed during peak hours, the authorities made efforts to ease congestion and improve services.

Some commuters said trains from southern districts should be scheduled to reach Chennai by 5 a.m. so as to enable free operation of the suburban services.

The general opinion was that at least 35 per cent travelled without tickets.

On their part, the authorities explained that there were practical difficulties in the introduction of extra trains.

They wanted the commuters "to put up with the inconvenience" for four more months when broad gauge conversion would be completed in the city sector.

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