Operational constraints haunt Chennai commuters using MRTS services

It has become a daily struggle for commuters from Arakkonam, Tiruvallur, and Avadi taking the Mass Rapid Transit System services at the Park railway station. They argue that the fourth line has upset the MRTS services: the peak-hour services operated at a gap of 10 minutes were stopped; the Park railway station, which connected the Chennai Central and Moore Market Complex Stations, was shifted, and the patforms of the MRTS stations were not expanded on the elevated stretch from Chintadripet to Thirumayilai for operating 12-car rakes. Earlier, MRTS commuters bound for the Moore Market Complex Station used to get down at the MRTS Park station, take the underpass below the Stanley viaduct connected through a subway, and reach the MMC Station near the Chennai Central Station. In fact, Southern Railway has installed a ticket counter for the MRTS Park station commuters at the exit of the Park station of the Tambaram-Beach section. Some suburban commuters point out that a few years ago, when the MRTS services were truncated at Chintadripet, the Stanley viaduct underpass was closed by Southern Railway under the pretext of renovation.