Chennai–Arakkonam train delays of up to 30 minutes are continuing during peak hours despite the completion of a ₹97.73-crore yard remodelling and track improvement project at Arakkonam Junction, leaving students, office-goers and other daily passengers facing uncertain waits.
The corridor is one of the busiest parts of Chennai’s suburban rail network. More than six lakh passengers use the network each day, while 241 electric multiple unit services operate between Chennai Central and Arakkonam. Another 88 services run on the Chennai–Gummidipoondi section.
Suburban trains are scheduled at intervals of five to 10 minutes during peak hours and 20 to 25 minutes during non-peak periods. Commuters, however, said trains have frequently been arriving late since the Arakkonam yard work was completed two months ago. They also reported much longer gaps between services at other times of the day.
The upgraded yard was designed to separate suburban, mainline and Renigunta-bound operations into dedicated operational grids. The project also replaced the earlier track layout at the Chennai end of the yard and removed speed restrictions on some routes. The changes were intended to improve the handling of different train movements through the junction.
S Ravi, a member of the Railway Passengers Association, said passenger demand had increased considerably but train operations had not kept pace. He said trains from Arakkonam, Tiruvallur and Avadi were reaching stations at the same time, particularly near Egattur Halt, Pattabiram, Avadi, Ambattur and Basin Bridge.
“Railways should either change the timings or operate more services,” Ravi said.
The clustering of services is creating operational pressure along stations where suburban trains share the corridor with other movements. For passengers, the effect is not limited to a late arrival at one station. Delays can extend waiting times at subsequent stops, complicate transfers and make travel schedules less predictable for people commuting to workplaces and educational institutions across Chennai and its western suburbs.
S R Srinivasan, a regular commuter from Avadi, said the passenger announcement system often did not work or could not be heard clearly. He said this created problems when trains were delayed or when passengers had to move between platforms.
Railway officials said no train had been cancelled. They identified coinciding express train timings as the main cause of delayed suburban services in the morning and said action was being taken to address the issue.
The immediate operational question is therefore not the availability of the upgraded yard alone, but how its segregated layout is being used alongside express and suburban schedules. Railway officials have not announced a revised timetable or additional services in the supplied information. The next steps will depend on the measures being taken to reduce conflicts between express trains and suburban services during the morning peak.
