Five more train services to Chennai's suburbs

With this, the city will have 450 services in the sector Five more train services were added to the suburbs of Avadi, Gummidipoondi and Tiruvallur from Chennai on Sunday. With this addition, the city will now have 450 services in the suburban sector. The Mass Rapid Train Service (MRTS), which operates between Chennai Beach and Velachery has 134 services. Each of the five additional services will help transport around 2,000 persons. Ultimately, every day, 10,000 people are expected to be benefitted in the suburban sector. The five services commissioned on Sunday are among the seven promised in the 2011 Union Budget. A total of 14.6 lakh people use the train services daily in the suburban sector. The low cost, speed and ease of travel has made trains the preferred mode of transport, said Divisional Railway Manager S. Anantharaman. Last year, there was an overall increase of nine per cent in passenger traffic. The suburban sector registered a 13.2 per cent increase. Currently the city's population benefits from 766 services involving electrical multiple units. In addition 65 stations that have existing cycle stands, seven more stations would provide the service. In the suburban Nemilicheri and Tirumalpur stations, subways are coming up at a cost of Rs. 2 crore while at the Tambaram station Rs. 4 crore would be spent on extending the platform and adding elevators and booking offices, Mr. Anantharaman announced at the function to commission the new services. This fiscal, the Southern Railways would focus on improving passenger amenities such as foot overbridge (FOB) and extension to FOBs in 21 stations at a cost of Rs. 20 crore. Mayor Saidai S. Doraisamy who flagged off the service to Tiruvallur, said the Chennai Corporation would offer help to the Southern Railway to acquire land for the MRTS project.