Railway stations in the Chennai division will soon have automatic ticket vending machines.
Story so far: The Southern Railway has already introduced ticket vending machines and the UTS app. However, the machines in some stations are defective. The machines and app were introduced to simplify ticket booking. In some stations with ticket counters on only one side, it was economical to set up the machines instead of building new counters.
- The Chennai division of the railways will install 130 machines. 34 have already been installed in 19 stations. Residents from places like Nehru Nagar, SBI Colony, and Teachers Colony wanted ticket counters on the east side of the Meenambakkam station.
- Officegoers and others have begun using the Meenambakkam station thanks to the subway providing easy access to GST Road. Some senior citizens, however, find it difficult to access the counter on the GST Road side.
Having a say: Social activist Venkatesan said residents sometimes preferred taking the train at Pazhavanthangal railway station a decade ago. Local cadre of the CPI(M) made a representation on the matter, and local MLAs arranged for the installation of machines on the east side of the Meenambakkam station.