Tambaram station's long wait

Good morning, Chennai!

⛅ Today’s weather: High: 35 ℃ | Low: 26 ℃ | A little cloudy for the day.

🧐 Did you know? Chennai’s most expensive cocktail is the Xoxo at the Cheroot Malt and Cigar Lounge at the ITC Grand Chola. It costs ₹6,000 and features Cognac XO, peated malt infused with saffron, and nannari.

🚉 Long wait for platforms at Tambaram station

(Image credit: Pinakpani, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Passengers continue to wait over two years for new platforms at the Tambaram railway station.

What’s it about? Development and construction work to make the Tambaram station a hub after Chennai Central and Egmore stations has been moving at a snail’s pace. This includes the construction of platforms 9 and 10, which has been delayed for years.

Work on the new platforms began two years ago and hasn’t yet been completed. It has inconvenienced passengers as the station has seen increased footfall.
New foot-over bridges and additional escalators are also planned but have yet to commence. The station development scheme tender was announced in 2019.

Necessary for passengers: Once the station has more platforms, it’ll be able to handle more services. The station is a boon for people from the South, Velachery, etc, who find it easy to reach the Tambaram station instead of Egmore or Central.

⏲️ Non-punctual trains

(Image credit: Vinayaraj, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

The punctuality of express and passenger trains run by the Chennai division of the Southern Railway has dropped.

What’s it about? Official data showed that the trains aren’t as punctual in 2023-24 compared to the previous year. Punctuality indicates the percentage of trains that reached the stations on time. The Chennai division operates 300 mail and 170 express passenger trains daily. Most of these are to and from the Central and Egmore stations.

The punctuality of mail/express trains decreased to just below 80% in July 2023, compared to 92.67% in July 2022. For passenger trains, punctuality in August 2023 was 88.49%, compared to 96.15% in August 2022.
The punctuality of trains will be monitored daily at a higher level to help improve their performance this year.

What’s the reason? The planned upgrade and infrastructure work, including laying new tracks, signal equipment, and scheduled maintenance, has resulted in trains running late.

🏢 Affordable co-working spaces

The CMDA has shortlisted three locations in the city to set up affordable co-working centres.

What’s it about: The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) has picked Anna Nagar, CIT Nagar, and Kolathur for the co-working spaces. The government will spend ₹30 crore on the centres.

Private co-working spaces are expensive. The CMDA is targeting middle-class employees and youngsters preparing for competitive exams.
The centres will have high-speed internet, workstations, meeting rooms, and fully-equipped libraries. The CMDA will explore different models, like a public-private partnership, to ensure they’re on par with private players.

Rise of co-working spaces: Co-working spaces cropped up in the early 2000s in the city and started becoming popular in 2015. The rent for these varies from ₹9,000 to over ₹30,000, depending on the location and seating option.

🚮 Privatising waste management backfires

(Image credit: Alexey Komarov, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Amid public outcry, the Corporation’s plans to privatise waste collection in several zones have yielded mixed results.

What’s it about? Over 6,000 metric tonnes of waste are generated across the city daily. The Chennai Corporation decided to privatise waste management in 10 zones, with two more in the pipeline – Thiru Vi Ka Nagar and Royapuram. However, in some places, this hasn’t gone according to plan.

In Velachery, clearing waste has slowed down due to delayed door-to-door collection and segregation. Officials said it was due to a manpower shortage. Sanitary workers collect the waste and dump it on the street.
Some private contractors pay their workers less than what the Chennai Corporation used to pay them. Despite complaints to increase the number of workers, it hasn’t happened.

Chennai Corporation defiant: The Chennai Corporation has said the number of complaints has reduced in the 10 zones since waste collection was privatised. It’s the reason why two more zones are getting private contractors.

📊 Today’s Poll

(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)

Do you prefer alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages?

I prefer alcoholic beverages.
I prefer non-alcoholic beverages.

❓ Today’s Question

(Only subscribers can submit their answers)

Which historical figure would you like to know more about?

Reply to this email with your answers.

🗞️ In other news…

Transit passenger volume to Sri Lanka and Dubai has decreased due to crackdowns by the customs department.
The Sholinganallur-Siruseri metro line construction work has begun after being stalled for several months.
iVP Semiconductor has engaged in talks with the state government to set up a production test facility in Chennai.
Light to moderate rain is forecast by the IMD for Chennai over the next few days.
The Chennai-Bengaluru expressway is expected to become operational this December.

That’s it for today. Have a great day!

Tambaram station’s long waitT