Chennai: For students, office-goers and regular commuters, the wait for a suburban train on the Chennai Central–Arakkonam corridor has become a daily test of patience. Despite the ₹97.73crore yard remodelling and track improvement work at Arakkonam Junction, passengers continue to report delays of up to 30 minutes during peak hours and much longer gaps during the day.Every day, more than six lakh passengers use Chennai’s suburban network. As many as 241 EMU services run between Chennai and Arakkonam daily, while another 88 services run on the Chennai–Gummidipoondi section.Suburban trains run at intervals of 5 to 10 minutes during peak hours and 20 to 25 minutes during non-peak hours. However, commuters said that after the yard work was completed two months ago, trains frequently arrive late.The revamped yard segregates suburban, mainline, and Renigunta-bound operations into dedicated operational grids. The project replaced the old track layout at the Chennai end of the yard and removed speed restrictions on certain routes.S Ravi, a Railway Passengers Association member, said passenger demand had increased considerably, but train operations had not kept pace. “Trains from Arakkonam, Tiruvallur and Avadi reach stations at the same time, particularly near Egattur Halt, Pattabiram, Avadi, Ambattur and Basin Bridge. Railways should either change the timings or operate more services,” he said.S R Srinivasan, a regular commuter from Avadi, said the passenger announcement system often does not work or cannot be heard clearly. “This leads to issues when trains are delayed or platforms are changed.”Railway officials said no train had been cancelled. “The main cause of delayed suburban trains in the morning is the coinciding express train timings. Action is being taken to address the issue.”
