This story is from September 24, 2018

MRTS: Chennai’s transit corridor where criminals have a free run

MRTS: Chennai’s transit corridor where criminals have a free run
Basic safety requirements like CCTV camera network and proper patrolling by Railway Protection Force and Govermment Railway Police are absent.
It was billed as an engineering marvel that would bring down travel time from the north to the south of the city to 45 minutes and give space to malls at stations.
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However, two decades after Southern Railway and the Tamil Nadu government developed the Chennai Beach-Velachery MRTS network, most of the 18 stations have emerged as the city’s shadiest structures where not only commuters, but even government employees at work cannot escape being assaulted or robbed.

Instead of sprucing up the stations, liquor shops have proliferated in their vicinity. With multiple entry and exit points, poor lighting and zero police patrolling, the stations have attracted anti-social elements who find it easy to target passengers and flee. Passengers and railway employees have been mugged at Velachery, Chintadripet, Chepauk and Kasturibai Nagar stations.
Over the last one decade, as the IT tech parks on Old Mahabalipuram Road have expanded, road traffic in the area has become worse. This has translated into a surge in footfalls on the MRTS, as it is a cheaper and faster mode of transport. A journey from Thiruvanmiyur to Mandaveli would take 45 minutes by road, but an MRTS local will take less than 20 minutes.
Despite the huge patronage -- 1.1 lakh commuters take trains every day -- amenities have been lacking. Basic safety requirements like CCTV camera network and proper patrolling by Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Govermment Railway Police (GRP) are absent.

There are two RPF outposts on the MRTS, one at Chennai Beach and another in Mylapore. Both are headed by inspectors and have sanctioned strength of around 90. However, no RPF staff is available at any of the stations, said railway officials.
“One RPF staff is allotted for three stations, but he doesn’t stay at the station. Most of the RPF staff goes as train escorts,” said a railway source.
Till two years ago, there was no GRP outpost at MRTS stations. Commuters who got robbed or attacked had to go to Chennai Egmore station to file a police complaint.
Now there is an outpost at Thiruvanmiyur station, but little has been done to make commuters feel safe. “Every time I get late at work I think twice before taking an MRTS train though I have to travel just four stations away,” said 26-year-old S Latha, who works in Thirvanmiyur and lives in Mandaveli.
She recalled the case of a young woman being attacked with a knife in Kasturibai Nagar station by an alleged stalker two years ago.
Commuters said amenities like food stalls would attract more footfalls which would force railways to add more security personnel.
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