Want to relieve yourself in any of the stations between Chennai Beach and Tambaram while traveling in the suburban trains? Forget it. You could end up alighting at a station to use its restroom only to find it locked, or worse, there may not be one at all.
Surprising as it may seem, restrooms have taken the backseat as far as the facilities provided in the suburban railway stations are concerned, save for a few. For example, on the Chennai Beach-Tambaram route, as many as nine stations either have no restrooms or they are locked up for reasons best known only to the authorities.
Services on the line start from as early as 3:55 am and run till midnight, in addition to the trains that ply between Chennai Beach and Tirumalpur and Chengalpattu stations. There is a steady flow of commuters round-the-clock as there are frequent train services in every few minutes.
Rajesh, a regular commuter, says, “I don’t bother about the lack of toilet facilities at the stations as they are hardly clean. I see to it that I do not use them.” Another commuter, Manoharan, who travels regularly between Mambalam and Tirusulam, says that even paid toilets, like those constructed by Exnora, are welcome in the stations. A senior railway official, while taking cognizance of the issue, told City Express that tenders for the construction of the toilets will be called for soon and finalised, and the work executed.
It’s not just about the lack of toilets, but many of the stations are, by design, unfriendly to the differently-abled.
There are no ramps at station entrances making it difficult for the differently-able to even enter some of these stations, leave alone commuting on the trains.
Speaking to City Express, an official on condition of anonymity conceded that very few of these stations are disabled-friendly, calling for changes in their structures.
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