Chennai: Monday morning blues were higher than usual today, as office-goers and students had to suffer inordinate delays in reaching their destinations, courtesy a snag which halted trains midway and traffic jams on roads.
This morning, the Chengalpattu-Beach EMUs got delayed for nearly an hour after a rail fracture was detected on a track between Pallavaram and Tambaram. This caused trains to be halted during the peak hour, much to the dismay of thousands of passengers.
According to sources, the trains stopped moving from 8 am and resumed after nearly an hour. The disruption not only affected rail commuters but even drivers on roads as thousands of people started using other modes of transport to reach their destinations. Several prime areas such as Tambaram, Chromepet, Pallavaram, Meenambakkam and Guindy were flooded by unusually high traffic.
A motorist passing through GST Road revealed that bikers even mounted the pavements to avoid the bottleneck traffic.
According to a rail commuter, the Chengalpattu-Beach trains had arrived very late at the Urapakkam station and halted for a long time at the Vandalur station.
Several passengers were also seen deboarding the train and exiting the stations to board buses, auto rickshaws and cabs.
Passengers who were stranded at the Guindy railway station, including women were seen climbing over the walls to exit the station as foot-over bridges was jampacked with commuters.
According to a senior railway official, the trains started moving after maintenance workers rectified the technical snag and a speed restriction was at place.
| WHAT IS IT |
| A rail fracture occurs when the rails that are laid on track, break. Rails are made of strong durable steel and are designed to withstand extreme weight and changes in the temperature. But lack of maintenance or extreme heat or cold can cause tensions in tracks which eventually leads to rail fractures. In India, rail fracture is one of the major reasons for derailments of trains and it causes deaths of hundreds every year. |
Photos: C Santhosh