While the air-conditioned (AC) suburban train service is slowly gaining traction among the users on the Beach-Tambaram and Chengalpattu section due to the hot climate in the city, the railway commuters on the west section are eagerly waiting for the AC train services, which was promised to be launched by April this year. The AC suburban train service was launched on the Beach-Tambaram section on April 19 last year, and since the launch, the AC train service has been growing in popularity among the railway users.
The Southern Railway had one 12-car rake of the AC train from the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) and was positive that a second 12-car AC rake would soon be deployed for the west section. Among the four suburban sections, the Beach-Tambaram and Moore Market complex-Avadi-Tiruvallur and Arakkonam sections, have the highest number of passengers and train operations.
A senior official of the Chennai division said the only AC train has been deployed in the Tambaram shed and has been used for the Beach-Tambaram and Chengalpattu route. The AC train service has been getting good patronage of late, with the daily footfall being around 6,000 commuters.
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