Latecomers: Trains from Chennai to Howrah And Other Places Rescheduled by 4 Hours, Passengers Hit Hard

Passengers going to any station east or north of Chennai are faced with hardships on a daily basis due to delays in the arrival of the double train. Many commuters arriving at Lucknow, New Delhi, Howrah and Bhubaneswar are facing troubles at Chennai Central Station.

Chennai Howrah Express, which departs Chennai Sentral at 7:30 pm, has been rescheduled for the past four days continuously. Mostly rescheduled from 3 to 5 hours. Sometimes, the train started as early in the morning as the coupling train came in too late. On Monday, Howrah Mail was scheduled to leave at 7.30pm but its time was moved to 4am on Tuesday. Similarly, trains from Chennai to Delhi and other places have been rescheduled.

“The arrival of the double train is constantly being delayed. The rake has to be cleared and prepared for the upward journey from Chennai. This is causing more delays,” said a senior Southern Railway official.

Most passengers arrive in advance but are required to stay either on the platform or in the station buildings for at least 4 to 5 hours.

Many passengers said that there is no cleaning and that the train from Howrah or other places from the north leaves the station in half an hour. “Imagine what can be cleaned in 30 minutes. We gave up on cleanliness. Double trains come very late and the railway authorities try to hide the number of hours of delay and blame it on cleaning the presses,” said Ahmed, a commuter from Chennai to Howrah.

People use trains from Kolkata, Bhubaneswar and other places to reach Chennai to meet doctors in different hospitals.

“Coromandel Express is recently called Ambulance Express as many patients and relatives come by this train to Chennai. Patients are taken to Apollo Hospitals, Cancer Institute and other hospitals for treatment. Train delays are affecting all passengers, especially the sick.”

Chennai Sentral happens to be a stop on the way and many Bengaluru or other cities arrive here to catch the train to West Bengal or Odisha. “I arrived from Bengaluru on Monday morning and was supposed to pick up the Howrah Mail at 7.30 am. But the up train was rescheduled to 4 am and all my travel plans were delayed,” said an IT engineer from Bengaluru who was on his way to Agartala.

Most of these trains cross multiple railway regions and no responsibility is assigned to any official from any region. There is no Railway Passengers Association in Chennai to handle such issues with the authorities and hence no solution to run the trains on time. It is up to the railroad to find an answer.