Railway officials' train blocked at Thirupadiripuliyur

Activists being removed at the Thirupadiripuliyur station in Cuddalore on Thursday.  

CUDDALORE: 

           Consumer activists and members of railway passengers' associations blocked a special train carrying Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) P.V. Vaithialingam (Tiruchi) and other officials at the Thirupadiripuliyur railway station here on Thursday.

           A few of them even squatted on the track forcing the engine driver to stop the train ahead of the scheduled halting place. Railway Protection Police personnel accompanying the officials cleared the track by removing the agitators. As they started raising slogans urging the railway authorities to complete the works on the Thirupadiripuliyur railway station soon and take appropriate safety measures, the officials had a quick view of the platform where the Villupuram-Mayiladuthurai passenger train had a rubbing on Wednesday and left.

             Meanwhile, Municipal Chairman T. Thangarasu, office-bearers of the Federation of All Social Welfare Organiasations in Cuddalore, including M. Nizamudeen, Balki, M.Marudhavanan, and, zonal railway users' consultative committee member P.Sivakumar, made representations to the DRM requesting him to put in place all basic amenities at the station and ensure halting of all trains passing through the station. They said that since Thirupadiripuliyur, forming part of the temple circuit, was situated in the heart of the Cuddalore town, it was only appropriate that all trains halted here. At present, only the Kamban Express, the Madurai—Chennai bi-weekly express and the Villupuram—Mayiladuthurai Passenger were halting at the station.

            Three other trains — Cholan Express, Varanasi Express and Bhuvaneswari Express — were just passing through the station. The Municipal Chairman also requested the DRM to erect a foot overbridge linking Kuppankulam and Padaleswarar Temple side. Mr. Nizamudeen told Mr. Vaithialingam that even though a subway was sanctioned, for which the civic body too had adopted a resolution expressing its consent, at the Lawerence Road level-crossing the Southern Railway had not taken any initiative in this regard.

            He said that the railway property was encroached upon on the main bus stand side and had the land been recovered the dangerous curvature at the station could have been averted. Mr Sivakumar called for rescheduling the timing of the passenger trains so as to leave Cuddalore at 9.30 a.m. and, in return direction, leave Chidambaram at 5 p.m. Mr. Vaithialingam promised that he would look into the demands. He would see to it that all trains which had a halt at the station prior to gauge conversion, would have a halt once again.

            However, he said that even though the construction of the subway was beyond his purview, he would write to the Railway Board to do the needful. When presspersons approached the DRM for his comments, he only said that the requests made by the organisations would be considered.

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Train runs into problems at Thirupadiripuliyur

CUDDALORE: 

          The Villupuram-Mayiladuthurai passenger train had a narrow escape at the Thirupadiripuliyur railway station here on Wednesday when some of its carriages rubbed against a newly-laid platform while negotiating a sharp curve just ahead of the station

          The incident which occurred at around 6.40 a.m. caused panic among the passengers. The engine driver slowed down the train at this point and yet at least four carriages were affected. There were smudged paint marks on the edges of the platform that indicated that the carriages had scraped the platform. Till Tuesday, the station was receiving passenger and goods trains on the main line which was thrown open to traffic after a court order recently. But before the commencement of train services on the newly converted gauge section, trial runs were to be carried out. However, it was reliably learnt that without conducting any such trial runs, the officials allowed the passenger train to pass through the loop line for the first time on Wednesday.

            Soon after the incident, railway officials put masons on the task to set right the platform. The deep curve drastically affects visibility of engine drivers and local people use it as a passage way for crossing over to the other side, risking their lives. The Thirupadiripuliyur station is yet to get basic amenities and the foot overbridge, the only means of reaching the platforms, is incomplete. Commuters are of the view that the station should be soon made a full-fledged one and the safety of passengers ensured by correcting the shortfalls. . Therefore, they called upon the railway authorities to introduce services only after all the safety parameters are satisfied.

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Lurking danger at Thirupadiripuliyur station

 

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.

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Safety inspection of BG track on

CUDDALORE: 

              Chief Commissioner of Railway Safety (Lucknow) Sudhir Kumar on Tuesday began a two-day inspection of the newly laid 122-km Villupuram-Mayiladuthurai broad gauge section.

             His entourage set out in eight motorised trolleys from Villupuram in the morning and, after covering 35 km, reached the Varakkalpattu railway station in the afternoon. Mr. Kumar told reporters that he would submit the inspection report to the Railway Ministry in three-four days.

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