Parakkum rail (not
the full path though !)~ is Chennai Mass
Rapid Transit System, a state-owned subsidiary of Indian Railways, unique
elevated railway line in India.
The line runs a distance of 19.34
km (12.02 mi) with 18 stations, from Beach to Velachery…… with plans to get
extended to St Thomas Mount thereby getting linked to the existing Beach
Tambaram EMU line. The alignment from
Chennai Beach to Park Town is along the existing broad-gauge suburban system;
alignment from Park Town to Thirumayilai is along the Buckingham canal (6.21 km
(3.86 mi), elevated) ~ further till Velacherry is also on elevated line.
Parakkum rail is
not exactly overcrowded. It has the
following Stations – last year, Commuters had something to cheer as six car
rakes were replaced with nine cars. It has come a long way since that operational
run between Chepauk to Beach station in Nov 1995; even when it got extended
till Thirumaylai in Oct 1997, many a
times, the trains ran near empty. Now
they are getting filled up at Velachery
station itself in the peak hours, though the maximum of commuters board at
Thiruvanmiyur. Some commuters feel that
the running time has slowed down considerably and that trains are now running
much slower.
The not-so-great
patronage has many reasons, primary being that many are not on residential locality
and remain not easily accessible. From
its formative years, we have felt and represented to authorities that the way
leading to the station should remain well-lit and clean. The completion
of 5 km stretch from Velachery to St Tnomas Mount is much awaited and expected
to change the fortunes of Railways. However
it is stated that a small stretch that links the MRTS to the St. Thomas Mount
station has not been completed due to delay in acquisition of land for a
distance of just 500 metres !
The line currently
transports less than 25 percent of its projected passenger capacity- and it is
projected that if lines are extended, enabling passengers to travel longer
distances without changing the train, the patronage would go up.
Now a
trial scheme introducing new trains connecting surban stations to those on the
Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) line in Chennai is set to make intra-city
transport faster and easier. Suburban train commuters
travelling from Tiruttani, Tiruvallur, Avadi and Gummidipoondi to stations on
the MRTS stretch need not get down at Chennai Beach and change trains to reach
Mylapore or Velachery. Neither will commuters need to get down at Chennai
Central and cross the Poonamalee High Road to rush to Park Town station to take
the MRTS train.
Southern Railways recently announced 51 integrated cross-sectoral services between the south-western and north-eastern suburbs and Velachery. While 27 trains will operate from suburbs to Velachery, 24 will run in the opposite direction. At present, only six such cross-sectoral services operate despite a daily passenger footfall of 15,000 in each direction. This move will ease suburban train commuting and also cut down travel time by at least 30 to 45 minutes per journey. Commuters can take the same train, without worrying about missing the connecting train at Beach station, or having to navigate through heavy road traffic in front of the Chennai Central station to reach Park Town.
This is a boon for
Triplicanites traveling by MRTS – they can take direct trains to Arakonam,
Thiruvallur, Avadi, Gummidipoondi, Ponneri, Sulurpet !!! The big catch is – it
is on experimental basis from 25th July till 13th Aug
2016 – depending on the patronage and passenger increase, the Railway
authorities would take further decisions, it is stated.
For
the benefit of users, here are the train timing schedule from Triplicane … So, the facility is available – it is for us
to use, send strong message and ensure that this extended service becomes permanent !
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
30th July 2016.
