Poor mobile network at Tambaram railway station, harrowing time for commuters

CHENNAI: Imagine entering a railway station to board a train and being stranded without mobile connectivity — no signals, no data, unable to contact anybody or even buy food using digital payment apps. A 35-year-old woman who entered Tambaram Railway Station on a Friday last month to board the Sengottai-bound Silambu Express had a harrowing time, unable to call her relatives who had boarded the train at Egmore, or even purchase snacks for her six-year-old child. Though Southern Railway officials acknowledged the issue and assured that they would coordinate with telecom providers and restore connectivity, the root of the problem lies deeper – the railway’s inability to separate suburban and non-suburban travellers on the Tambaram-Chengalpattu route. A chunk of commuters bound for Chengalpattu mostly board express trains instead of local trains, resulting in packed reserved coaches and dangerously congested unreserved ones, forcing passengers to travel hanging on footboards.