Press "Enter" to skip to content

Chennai local trains lose 18 lakh commuters in April, users may be moving to Metro

image

Chennai’s suburban rail network that connects Chennai with places like Tambaram, Arakkonam and Tiruvallur has lost around 18 lakh in April 2019.

A statistical report from Southern Railways said that the network has lost around 60,000 commuters a day in April 2019, reported Times of India. 

The number of commuters in suburban network is 30.8 million in April 2019 and 34.3 million in March 2019 as against the corresponding figures of 32 million and 33.2 million for April and March 2018 respectively.

This steep fall in patronage could be due to the migration of commuters to the Chennai Metro Rail network whose Airport-Washermanpet line runs parallel to the Tambaram-Chennai Beach-Tiruvallur suburban lines. Chennai Metro rail now has a patronage of around 90,000 commuters everyday, which translates into 30 lakh users a month, ToI reported.

It is not just the number of users that has reduced, but the number of commuters using the first class season ticket on suburban network has also decreased, says the report. While the number of season ticket holders has fallen by 40,000, the regular travellers who use first class coaches in local trains have also decreased by 1,000. The first class fare in Chennai’s suburban trains are 5-10 times the normal fare and officials doubt that it could be these travellers who could have migrated to the metro railway service since the fares are almost the same. 

Chennai metro rail’s air-conditioned rakes and connectivity to populous localities in Chennai like Anna Nagar could be a possible reason for the migration, the officials claim.

Another possible reason for the sharp fall in patronage could be the frequent cancellation of suburban trains services by Southern Railways due to scheduled maintenance work on the line. However, the officials have expressed confidence that the numbers would pick up once schools and colleges reopen in June. 

Source: The News Minute