A safety awareness programme at Chromepet railway station in Chennai turned confrontational on October 7 after commuters questioned railway officials over the lack of convenient access facilities, even as passengers were warned against crossing the tracks.
The programme was organised by the Railway Protection Force, the Railway Police and railway officials to discourage passengers from taking the dangerous route across the tracks. Officials used loudspeakers to advise commuters to use the foot overbridge or subway, distributed pamphlets and displayed banners warning that trespassing could lead to fines and legal action.
During the programme, several passengers, most of them women, were seen crossing the tracks. RPF personnel, railway staff and women ticket examiners stopped them and warned them about the risk. The intervention led to heated arguments, with passengers saying that the station did not offer a sufficiently convenient alternative for entering or leaving the premises.
Commuters specifically questioned why Chromepet lacked a subway like the facilities at Meenambakkam and St Thomas Mount stations. They also demanded that the subway built by the Highways Department on Radha Nagar Main Road be connected to Chromepet station, with proper stairways to allow passengers to reach the railway station safely.
The dispute highlights a practical problem in railway safety enforcement: passengers are being asked to avoid track crossings, but access arrangements at the station remain difficult when vertical circulation equipment is unavailable. Commuters said the station’s escalators and lifts frequently stop working, forcing them to use the foot overbridge. They described climbing around 30 steps up and another 30 steps down when the equipment is not operational.
“We know that crossing the tracks is dangerous, but when there is no convenient alternative, we are forced to take the risk,” commuters told officials, according to DT Next. Their complaints centred not on the safety warning itself, but on the gap between the rule being enforced and the infrastructure available to support safer movement.
Railway officials said they understood the difficulties faced by passengers but maintained that crossing the tracks could result in serious injury or loss of life. They said the awareness campaign was intended to prevent accidents and improve passenger safety at the station.
Officials also said that the Railways had already received several petitions about problems faced by commuters at Chromepet. According to the report, ongoing development works are expected to be completed by April 2027. The planned works include additional escalators and lifts, while the Railways and the Highways Department are also taking steps to connect the Radha Nagar subway with the station and provide proper passenger access.
The next test for the station will be whether these planned works create a continuous and usable route for passengers, particularly when lifts or escalators are unavailable. Until the improvements are completed, railway officials are continuing safety awareness measures and warning commuters against crossing the tracks.
