The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Railway official conducts safety audit of MRTS line

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jul 07, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Railway official conducts safety audit of MRTS line

Special Correspondent

Recommends steps to enhance safety of the track

— Photo: S.R. Raghunathan

INSPECTION: A team of railway officials checking the track between Tiruvanmiyur and Velachery from a wagon on Thursday.

CHENNAI: Commissioner of Railway Safety (Southern Circle) K.J.S.Naidu on Thursday conducted safety inspection of the 11.3 km long Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) track between Tirumylai and Velachery and suggested a number of measures for enhancing the safety of the track.

The Commissioner, along with Southern Railway Chief Administrative Officer R.Ramanathan, inspected the elevated track on a tower wagon. Earlier, he had decided to conduct the inspection from Chennai Beach station to Velachery. As the Beach – Tirumylai section had already been opened for passenger traffic, he confined his inspection between Tirumylai and Velachery. He checked pre-stressed concrete girders and the ballast-less track.

After the inspection in the morning, Mr. Naidu held detailed discussions with Southern Railway officials in the evening on the maintenance of the elevated track. As the entire elevated track from Tirumylai to Velachery is ballastless, he wanted a technical team to be in charge of the track maintenance after the line was opened for the passenger traffic.

Mr.Ramanathan told The Hindu that Southern Railway would implement the suggestions made by the CRS. On implementation, another inspection would be the carried out. The Commissioner would again inspect the track in the third week of this month, along with his deputies, to check the signal and telecommunication, and overhead equipment. He hoped that he would clear the track for passenger traffic after his second inspection.

Responding to queries from press persons in Tiruvallur, after attending the District-level Vigilance and Monitoring Committee meeting, Union Minister of State for Railways R. Velu said it would not be viable or advisable to provide inter-modal transport facility at all the MRTS stations. He reasoned that since the bus services of Metropolitan Transport Corporation were operated on the main roads abutting many of these stations, inter-modal facilities would not be viable.

Since inter-modal facilities were needed at Perungudi and Velachery, the railway authorities have initiated the work at the two stations. The MRTS service upto Velachery would be launched shortly, he said.

On the change in the timings of suburban EMU train services, Mr. Velu said the Southern Railway would not hesitate to consider withdrawing the revised schedule if the changes adversely affected school children and office goers. He added that there, however, was bound to some resistance from commuters whenever EMU train timings were revised. If proved beyond doubt that commuters were adversely affected the change, Southern Railway would not hesitate to go back to the old timings. Earlier, Mr. Velu reviewed the progress of various works taken up by the District Rural Development Authority in Tiruvallur.

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