Chennai: Cyclone Michaung has brought unprecedented rainfall to the city of Chennai and its suburban areas. This has wreaked havoc on the lives of the people of Chennai and the train operations from and to Chennai. Southern Railway had to cancel several train services because of the water rising above danger levels in many railway bridges and the submergence of tracks in many areas of Chennai city and its suburban areas.
Bridge no.14 between Basin Bridge and Vyasarpadi is a very critical bridge as it connects Chennai Central with the South Western line. As a result of water rising above the danger level, this bridge had to be suspended making safety a priority. Coaching depots of Basin Bridge, Gopalsamy Nagar (Chennai Egmore) and Tambaram have been inundated with water thus rendering it impossible to undertake primary and secondary maintenance which involves examining the rake on the safety front before it is offered for train services.
Owing to the preparedness and vigilance of its dedicated staff Southern Railway has not faced any other breaches on account of Cyclone Michaung except for water rising above danger level in many bridges in the Chennai region. Before the onset of cyclonic rainfall, all concerned staff at the field level were put on red alert to take precautions as per laid down protocols.
Due to the suspension of bridge no.14 as aforesaid, trains bound for Chennai Central had to be short-terminated on 04th December 2023 at various stations like Avadi, Tiruvallur, etc. However, Southern Railway evacuated the passengers of such trains by running EMU services to Chennai Suburban Terminus and buses were arranged in coordination with Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC). Catering arrangements were also made for these passengers
Wherever train services were short-terminated, maintenance teams were mobilised by road to undertake platform maintenance to enable the running of train services from the short-terminated stations. Help desks were set up at Chennai Egmore and Chennai Central Railway stations to assist passengers wherever needed.
Additional enquiry counters and Special Booths were set up at Chennai Central, Chennai Egmore and Katpadi, 24/7 to assist passengers and arrange refunds. All section supervisors, Commercial Inspectors, and Ticket Checking staff were engaged in special monitoring tasks at their respective stations and to help passengers on account of cancellations and diversions of trains.
Southern Railway is taking all necessary steps for the early restoration of train services, including Suburban train services, from Chennai Central, Chennai Egmore and Tambaram.
According to a press release from the PRO of Southern Railway, steps have been taken to drain out the water in Basin Bridge coaching depots, Gopalsamy Nagar depots and Tambaram depots. Intensive inspection of all railway assets such as tracks, OHE and signals are being carried out and will be attended on the spot for early restoration of train services across all affected sections. Already suburban services have been resumed in most of the sectors and 100% of services are expected to be resumed by today.