Title - Tiruvallur wants more express train halts with increase in earning

Many express trains towards major cities do not halt at Tiruvallur due to which passengers have to travel to Chennai Central, 34 kms away from Tiruvallur, to board trains for Bengaluru or Coimbatore. Train like Cheran Express and Bengaluru Mail do not have stoppage at Tiruvallur station which is a big inconvenience for passengers.

Thousands of passengers from near by areas like Sriperumbudur, Pattabiram and Poonamallee have to travel various other places to board the train.

Out of 50 trains bound for Coimbatore, Mumbai, Kerala and Bengaluru; only 10 have halt at Tiruvallur. Rest all trains stop at Arakkonam station only which is 37 km from Tiruvallur station. Similarly, in the southern direction, all express trains stop at Tambaram and Chengalpet after starting from Chennai. 

Data suggests, annual earning of Tiruvallur is up from 7.05 crore in 2012 - 13 to 12.49 crore in 2016 - 17. Despite this increase recent proposal by Chennai Division to make Tiruvallur as temporary stoppage was not accepted by Southern Railway headquarters.

An official said "there has to be at least 40-50 reserved tickets booked for a distance of 500km for a period of few months to be considered as a stoppage for majority of trains. Official data show there is not much of a difference in the earnings from reserved ticket sales at Tiruvallur and Chengalpet. "