Students doing a balancing act on an iron girder to cross the railway track at Thirupadiripuliyur railway station in Cuddalore.
CUDDALORE:
The Thirupadiripuliyur railway station, situated in the heart of Cuddalore town, is an apology for a station, lacking even the most basic amenities. Even after the restoration of the train services in the newly converted gauge section after three-and-a-half years, the station has no passenger amenities such as rest rooms, drinking water, toilets, etc.
In the absence of any back-up mechanism, the control room goes pitch dark during power cuts. The incomplete foot overbridge with barren iron girders stand testimony to the lethargic way in which the works are being executed in the station. With no means to cross the tracks between the three platforms, passengers, students and the general public are put to great hardship. They risk their life crossing the tracks as express trains cruise through the station at top speed without any halt.
Moreover, the steep curve at the Kuppankulam side leaves the people living near the tracks in jitters because of poor visibility of speeding trains. Panchayat president V. Govindan (67) told The Hindu that after the gauge conversion the platform was extended further, thus obstructing the common pathway between Kuppankulam and Thirupadiripuliyur (right across the tracks). The students, elderly and sick persons and patients cannot climb on to the platforms, particularly when the trains are running. Mr. Govindan said that the residents staged many demonstrations in vain, seeking another foot overbridge at this point because the one under construction within the railway property would be inaccessible to the general public and any violators would be prosecuted for trespass.
Several representations made to the district administration, the local MLA, and M.P. have not helped. At present, a pair of iron girders placed across the track linking platforms 1 and 2 comes handy for the students and others to cross over. But they would have to necessarily traverse through the “live track” on the other end, thus exposing them to danger, Mr. Govindan added. S.Ilango (45), another resident, opined that the authorities should provide risk-free passage to the local people before the station becomes fully operational.
At present, only the Villupuram-Mayiladurai passenger train and Kamban and Cholan Expresses have scheduled halts at the station. Railway sources said that as of now the station was ill-equipped to handle the trains. The services were terminated in November 2006 for gauge conversion that should have been completed within 18 months. Besides, the inordinate delay meant the works are still incomplete. But for the court direction, the services would not have been resumed soon. Moreover, construction of a subway at the crucial Lawrence Road railway cross, located immediately after the station, is also yet to take off.
