Southern Railway has announced a two-week programme of late-night suburban service changes on the Chennai Beach–Tambaram–Chengalpattu corridor from August 25 to September 7. A five-hour line and power block will be imposed at Chennai Egmore to launch foot-overbridge girders as part of the station redevelopment, affecting several late-night and early-morning EMU services.
Chennai suburban railway passengers will face cancellations, short-terminations and timing changes from August 25 to September 7 as Southern Railway carries out another major construction phase at Chennai Egmore railway station.
A five-hour line and power block between 11.15 pm and 4.15 am will be imposed to enable the launching of foot-overbridge girders for the ongoing Egmore redevelopment. The block has been scheduled largely overnight, but it will affect several late-evening departures and the first services of the following morning.
On weekdays during the August 25–September 5 period, four Chennai Beach–Tambaram EMUs scheduled to leave Beach at 10.20 pm, 11.20 pm, 11.40 pm and 11.59 pm will be fully cancelled.
Five inbound services will be partially cancelled and terminate at Tambaram instead of Chennai Beach: the Tirumalpur–Chennai Beach service leaving Tirumalpur at 8 pm; Guduvancheri–Beach services at 10.15 pm and 11.20 pm; and Chengalpattu–Beach services at 10.20 pm and 11 pm.
Southern Railway has also altered the timing of two outbound services. The Chennai Beach–Guduvancheri EMU normally leaving at 9.45 pm will depart at 9.50 pm, while the Beach–Chengalpattu service normally scheduled for 10.20 pm will instead leave at 10.15 pm.
From August 26 to September 7 on weekdays, the 3.50 am Chennai Beach–Chengalpattu EMU will not operate between Chennai Beach and Tambaram, effectively beginning its journey from Tambaram for the affected portion of the schedule.
Additional disruption is planned on Sunday, August 30 and Sunday, September 6. Seven EMUs are to be fully cancelled, including four late-night Beach–Tambaram services, one Tirumalpur–Beach service and two Tambaram–Beach trains. Three other services will be partially cancelled and three rescheduled.
Passengers using late-night or early-morning suburban trains should therefore verify the revised operating pattern before travelling.
Major Service Changes
| Period | Service impact |
|---|---|
| Block period | August 25–September 7 |
| Engineering block | 11.15 pm–4.15 am |
| Purpose | Launching FOB girders at Chennai Egmore |
| Beach–Tambaram cancellations | 10.20 pm, 11.20 pm, 11.40 pm, 11.59 pm on affected weekdays |
| Inbound partial cancellations | 5 services terminate at Tambaram |
| Outbound timing changes | Beach–Guduvancheri and Beach–Chengalpattu |
| Early-morning change | 3.50 am Beach–Chengalpattu partially cancelled from Beach to Tambaram |
| Additional Sunday disruption | August 30 and September 6 |
