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Hundreds of commuters were stranded during peak travel hours in the morning of Thursday, May 14, following a signal glitch on Chennai’s western suburban railway that disrupted train operations.
The Southern Railway Chennai Division officials told the media that a technical glitch near the Perambur railway station affected suburban trains travelling towards the Moore Market Complex (MMC). The disturbance caused several Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) trains to be stranded between Villivakkam railway station and Perambur loco station.
Railway authorities said that at least three suburban services were directly affected by the glitch. Technical teams managed to fix the problem later in the morning, but train services continued to be hit by delays as services slowly returned to normal schedules.
Officials stated that EMU trains bound for Chennai Central and nearby suburban terminals were delayed by nearly 45 minutes. The disruption caused overcrowding at several stations across the western corridor, with passengers struggling to reach workplaces and educational institutions on time.
Commuters expressed frustration over the delay and the lack of timely updates during the disruption. A regular passenger told The Hindu that the suburban service from Avadi to Ennore was delayed by more than an hour, forcing passengers to wait on crowded platforms.
The western suburban corridor is one of the busiest railway networks in Chennai, catering to thousands of daily commuters from areas such as Avadi, Ambattur, Villivakkam, and Perambur. Even short disruptions during peak hours often lead to cascading delays across the network.
Railway officials said services were restored after the signal fault was rectified and train movement resumed gradually on the affected section.
This article was written by a student interning with TNM