Poor planning in the construction of ROB and FOB at the railway stations in Chennai, many commuters affected
Posted on: 30/Dec/2020 9:17:49 AM
Two years back, unmanned level crossings were eliminated by the Chennai Division belonging to the Southern Railways or SR to avoid accidents.
Point is that SR had removed more than 300 unmanned level crossings in all its 6 divisions by constructing subways, posting personnel, diverting traffic and closing the areas etc.
Commuters finding it difficult:
The poor planning in the construction of ROB or rail over bridges and FOB or foot over bridges has been an issue for many commuters in the western parts of Chennai Division. It is worth mentioning that the Railway Board or RB wanted to improve passenger’s safety and speed up travel and the unmanned level crossings were removed.
Information is that the commuters belonging to the places like Pattabiram and Thiruninravur are inconvenienced by the closure of the level crossings. No facility has been made for reaching the platforms and accessing the areas on either side of the stations. It is well known that many from the western suburbs prefer suburban trains than the MTC buses to go to their offices in Chennai.
These commuters are disappointed about the poor facilities that are available to reach the railway stations. As per a resident belonging to Vallalar Nagar that is present on the southern side of Pattabiram station, residents and commuters were helpless due to the closing of the level crossing number 10(due to Coronavirus pandemic). He spoke about the FOB or foot over bridge that has been installed by SR. Truth is that climbing this foot over bridge has not been easy for the senior persons and they are unable to use it.
The commuters at the Pattabiram station have been forced to walk on the railway tracks because of the fact that the foot over bridge has not been linked to the platforms. The rail over bridge that was constructed by the state government adjacent to the Pattabiram railway station has not been used by the pedestrians and commuters as it has more than 100 steps. Moreover, this rail over bridge is not linked to the station. In Thiruninravur, the rail track cuts through the suburb and here also the residents face the same issues.
In the western section, Thiruninravur railway station is one of the most important stations and it has been used by many to go to Thiruvallur and Chennai. This was pointed out by Mr. S. Murugaian, secretary, Thiruninravur Railway Passenger’s Association. Point is that many government offices and temples are located to the south of the station and Chennai-Thiruvallur High Road is located to the north. A subway has been constructed in the Nemilichery station is known. Now, the residents have been demanding a subway in Thiruninravur station also because the level crossing has been closed.
Lesser amenities present in western suburbs than southern suburbs:
The western suburbs have been denied amenities like escalators and lifts etc when compared to the southern suburbs. This was according to some commuters and activists. It was later highlighted by a senior officer of SR that it was not feasible to commission a mini-subway at Thiruninravur/ Pattabiram just like it was done at Nemilichery. It was due to the fact that the Nemilichery station had entry and exit on one side. He hinted that escalators would be constructed at other stations (just like Tiruvallur station) based on footfalls.
