Cool comfort, wrong clock: AC EMU debuts with timing troubles

CHENNAI: With Mercury rising every day, sweltering heat and humidity are a harsh reality for commuters in the city. Now, imagine taking an AC train for your daily commute. To be precise, it was 32.5° Celsius on Saturday morning, but inside the long-awaited air-conditioned EMU (Train no 49003), it was a balmy 27 degrees.

Though the excitement among railway officials was palpable, the AC rake’s maiden service from Beach to Chengalpattu on Saturday was largely empty, probably due to lack of awareness, timings, cost and limitations in stoppage.

A total of six services will be operated on the route (Beach-Chengalpattu – 4 services, and Beach-Tambaram – 2 services) on all days except Sundays.

Only passengers with valid AC EMU tickets or season tickets will be allowed to board and travel these trains. Passengers with ordinary second class or first class season tickets will not be permitted to travel on board AC EMUs, an official communique from SR clarified.

As per the official time-table, the first train from Chengalpattu will start at 9 am and reach Tambaram, Egmore and Beach at 9.41 am, 10.15 am and 10.30 am respectively. The afternoon service will start at 3.45 pm from Beach and reach Chengalpattu at 5.25 pm, while the train in the opposite direction will start at 5.45 pm and reach Beach at 7.15 pm. The last service (restricted between Beach and Tambaram) will leave Beach at 7.35 pm and reach Tambaram at 8.30 pm.

The first service of the day will start from Tambaram at 5.45 am and reach Beach at 6.45 am. The Beach-Chengalpattu service will stop at the following stations: Fort, Park, Egmore, Mambalam, Guindy, St Thomas Mount, Tirusulam, Tambaram, Perungalathur, Guduvanchery, Potheri Halt, Singaperumal Koil, Paranur and Chengalpattu.

However, the Beach-Tambaram service will stop at all stations like the regular non-AC suburban EMUs on the route.

Though launched with a good intention, SR officials must rework the timing and stoppage of the AC EMU, if not the price (fixed by the Railway Board) for it to become popular among the denizens. Timing, in particular, seems to be a major problem for commuters.

For instance, the first AC EMU from Chengalpattu leaves by 9 am and reaches Tambaram and Guindy only by 9.41 am and 10 am, respectively.

“How will office-goers use the service if it reaches Beach/Park by 10.30 am/10.19 am? Most offices start by 10 am,” pointed out Soundararajan, a commuter on-board the AC suburban EMU. “If we consider the time consumed for exiting crowded railway stations and using some last mile connectivity or even walking to places of work, commuters will easily require anywhere between 10-30 minutes. Can an office-goer from Chengalpattu or the surrounding area reach his/her office in Egmore or Parry’s at 11 am for the sake of travelling by an AC train?”

If it’s a choice between taking an AC train for comfort or using any public transport that would enable office-goers to be on time at work, the answer would be the latter. “Even in the evening, the AC EMU departs at 3.45 pm from Beach. It doesn’t cater to the working population. Probably, in the opposite direction, officer-goers can use the service leaving Chengalpattu at 5.45 pm, as it will suit their office timings. By and large, the existing AC train timings only offer comfy rides for those without time restrictions,” he opined.

Concurring with him was another passenger Ramkumar, who added: “Those travelling beyond the Chennai Metro network will bear the AC EMU fare if they want an AC ride. Otherwise, why will I pay Rs 60 to reach Tirusulam (Airport) from Parry’s (Beach) if I can travel the same distance (High Court to airport) at Rs 32 on the Metro Rail? Also, the minimum AC EMU fare is Rs 35 for Beach-Egmore (within 5 km). I can travel from High Court to Egmore at Rs 16 on the Metro Rail.”

Passengers also lamented over the lack of stoppage at major halt stations like Nungambakkam and Kodambakkam, which could discourage students. “After Egmore, the AC EMU stops only at Mambalam, skipping three stops in the morning and afternoon. Why would a college student want to alight three stops beyond his destination and take another non-AC train to return to Kodambakkam or Nungambakkam?” wondered Manorama, a college lecturer.

Fare structure

Season ticket fare

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