Planning to travel from Arakonnam to Velachery? You will not have to switch trains anymore, as the Southern Railway has extended some of the suburban train services till Velachery.
Six trains on the Arakkonam-Beach line and two on the Sullurpet-Beach line, including a 7 a.m. ladies special service from Arakkonam, have been extended.
The service will be operated from Monday to Saturday. Nearly 30,000 passengers travelling from the northern and western suburbs to the city are expected to benefit from the services. Earlier, passengers had to get down at Beach or Moore Market railway station and then board trains to Velachery.
“Many passengers used to miss the connecting train, especially at Beach station, due to an improper schedule. There is no clarity on whether the trains with be six- or nine-car trains,” said K. S. Gopalakrishnan, former zonal railway users consultative committee member.
The trains from Ponneri to Chennai Beach at 7.05 a.m., Avadi-Chennai Beach at 7.40 a.m., the ladies special between Arakonnam and Chennai Beach at 7 a.m. and Sullurpet-Chennai Beach local at 7.25 a.m. will now go to Velachery.
Similarly, a train between Velachery and Chennai Beach at 11.20 a.m. is extended to Tiruttani. The Velachery–Chennai Beach ladies special at 5.15 p.m. is extended till Arakkonam, and the services between Velachery and Chennai Beach at 7.30 p.m. and at 8.50 p.m. will run up to Avadi.
Since November 28, the Sullurpet–Chennai Beach and Arakkonam–Chennai Beach EMU suburban trains have been extended till Velachery. These services will run from Monday to Saturday with different train numbers (on Sundays the existing services will be maintained).
The following EMU local trains from Arakkonam and Sullurpet sections will also be operated till Velachery:
a) Train no. 42702 Ponneri–Chennai Beach EMU local, leaving Ponneri at 7.05 a.m. instead of 7 a.m., will arrive at Chennai Beach at 8.05 a.m. and leave the station at 08.10 a.m. It will arrive at Velachery at 8.55 a.m. (new train no. 42750).
b) Train no. 43610 Avadi–Chennai Beach EMU local, leaving Avadi at 7.40 a.m., will arrive at Chennai Beach at 8.30 a.m. and leave the station at 8.35 a.m. It will arrive at Velachery at 9.20 a.m. (new train no. 43650).
c) Train no. 43804 Arakkonam–Chennai Beach EMU local (Ladies Special), leaving Arakkonam at 7.00 a.m., will arrive at Chennai Beach at 8.55 a.m. and leave Chennai Beach at 9.00 a.m. It will arrive at Velachery at 9.45 a.m. (new train no.43932).
d) Train no. 42802 Sullurpet–Chennai Beach EMU local, leaving Sullurpet at 7.25 a.m., will arrive at Chennai Beach at 9.45 a.m. and leave at 9.50 a.m.. It will arrive at Velachery at 10.35 a.m. (new train no. 42850).
The following EMU local trains running between Velachery and Chennai Beach will be extended till Tiruttani/Arakkonam/Avadi:
a) Train no. 41050 Velachery–Chennai Beach EMU local will leave Velachery at 11.20 a.m. instead of 11.00 a.m. and arrive at Chennai Beach at 12.05 p.m. It will leave Chennai Beach at 12.10 p.m. and arrive at Tiruttani at 2.40 p.m. (new train no. 43941).
b) Train no. 41094 Velachery–Chennai Beach EMU local (Ladies Special) will leave Velachery at 5.15 p.m., arrive at Chennai Beach at 6.00 p.m., leave Chennai Beach at 6.05 p.m. and arrive at Arakkonam at 8.05 p.m. (new train no.43931).
c) Train no. 41116 Velachery–Chennai Beach EMU local will leave Velachery at 7.30 p.m. instead of 7.20 p.m., arrive at Chennai Beach at 8.15 p.m., leave Chennai Beach 8.20 p.m. and arrive at Avadi at 9.10 p.m. (new train no. 43651).
d) Train no. 41126 Velachery–Chennai Beach EMU local will leave Velachery at 8.50 p.m., arrive at Chennai Beach 9.35 p.m., leave Chennai Beach at 9.40 p.m. and arrive at Avadi at 10.30 p.m. (new train no. 43653).
Further, the following EMU trains in the Chennai Beach–Velachery–Chennai Beach sections have been cancelled from November 28.
Train no. 41027 Chennai Beach–Velachery EMU local scheduled to leave Chennai Beach at 8.15 a.m.;
train no. 41031 Chennai Beach–Velachery EMU local scheduled to leave Chennai Beach at 8.35 a.m.;
train no. 41037 Chennai Beach–Velachery EMU local (Ladies Special) scheduled to leave Chennai Beach at 9.05 a.m.;
train no. 41047 Chennai Beach – Velachery EMU local scheduled to leave Chennai Beach at 9.55 a.m.;
train no. 41052 Velachery-Chennai Beach EMU local scheduled to leave Velachery at 11.15 a.m.;
train no. 41118 Velachery–Chennai Beach EMU local scheduled to leave Velachery at 7.30 p.m.;
train no. 41126 Velachery–Chennai Beach EMU local scheduled to leave Velachery at 8.50 p.m.
