The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Train arrivals, departures hit

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Nov 08, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Train arrivals, departures hit

Special Correspondent

MTC operates 2,054 buses on Monday despite waterlogging, breakdowns

CHENNAI: The arrival and departure of trains from Chennai Central and Egmore were seriously affected on Monday by heavy rain in the city on Sunday.

All trains arrived 30 minutes to two hours behind schedule. The departure of trains was also delayed on Sunday. The Erode-bound Yercaud Express, which was expected to leave at 11.30 p.m., left at 3 a.m. on Monday morning.

Railway authorities, who were forced to close the Central station due to flooding of track near Vyasarpadi during the previous rain, this time took preventive measures. The moment they received information that there would be one more bout of heavy rain, the authorities pressed into service higher horsepower motors to pump out floodwaters from the track at vulnerable places. This enabled them to prevent rainwater flooding the track near Vyasarpadi and other places.

But, in view of the heavy rain, operating crew were asked to be cautious which led to late arrival and departure of trains, the officials said.

Information centres

Southern Railway opened information centres to enable passengers find out the departure and arrival of trains at Egmore and Central. Passengers can get the information by dialling 55477783/ 84/ 85.

The Metropolitan Transport Corporation operated 2,054 vehicles on Monday despite waterlogging, traffic snarls and breakdowns cutting down the number of trips. Nearly 15 per cent of the trips had to be cancelled, according to a senior MTC official.

Buses avoided plying on waterlogged areas such as GST Road and were diverted to avoid traffic jams and water entering the vehicles. "In the last two days, we had 120 to 130 calls reporting breakdown of buses on the middle of the road," said a senior official.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu