Chennai Metro Rail commuters on Wednesday morning when a technical glitch halted direct train services between Chennai Central and the airport.
The issue arose early in the day, compelling Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) to announce at around 6 a.m. that the direct services would be suspended for the day. Commuters were directed to transfer trains at Alandur Metro Rail station to reach their destinations. Despite the disruption, other services across the two corridors of the Phase I network, spanning Chennai Central to St. Thomas Mount and Wimco Nagar to Chennai airport, continued to operate as usual. The technical issue was attributed to a malfunction in a point machine, a critical component of the signalling system essential for safe train operations. Officials said the point machine which developed a glitch was near the Chennai airport station. “The snag occurred around 10.30 p.m. on Tuesday but it could not be resolved immediately. It took some time to arrange the spares and replace it. We tried to fix it as soon as possible,” an official said.
This issue first surfaced on Tuesday afternoon at approximately 2:30 p.m. and was promptly addressed. However, the problem recurred later that night at around 10:30 p.m., causing further complications. CMRL officials managed to rectify the problem by 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, allowing the resumption of direct services thereafter. “Some of the train services were delayed on Tuesday night due to machine fault. It should have ideally been fixed last night itself,” a source said.
The Phase I network is equipped with a total of 100 point machines, with an additional 50 machines situated in the depot for train maintenance. The official noted that the CMRL also maintains a stock of spare parts to ensure quick repairs and minimise service interruptions. This incident underscores the critical need for robust maintenance protocols and rapid response measures to address technical failures, ensuring minimal inconvenience to the daily commuters reliant on Chennai’s metro services.
