Footfalls at railway stations, airport up as many return to Chennai following relaxations

CHENNAI: People who left the city before the lockdown was imposed have started returning since more relaxations kicked in on Monday. Tambaram and Egmore railway stations saw a good crowd that arrived by early morning trains in the past two days.
The number of flights and passengers arriving at Chennai airport outnumbered departures in the past two days. On June 13, there were 53 flight arrivals and 50 departures, with 4,744 reaching the city while only 3,898 left. An airport official said there has been a marginal increase in passenger arrivals in the past few days and airlines are increasing services to Chennai.
Sleeper class coaches in trains that arrived from southern towns were full on Monday. Most of the people were returning from their hometowns to the city for work. As crowds swelled, physical distancing norms and mask compliance were not followed at the railway stations.
Bhagavat Kumar, who travelled from Kanyakumari by KanyaKumari Express, said, “The reserved coaches were full. Many tickets were available a few days ago for travel on Sunday. But they sold out fast soon after the government announced new relaxations later in the week. Tatkal bookings were quick on Saturday for travel by Sunday evening train.” Kumar decided to return to Chennai as he needed to report to office for work. “Most of the people in my coach were returning to the city to join work,” he added.
Many passengers arrived early in the morning and waited for autos and cabs outside the Tambaram station. It took some time for the crowd to clear out as there weren’t enough vehicles available for hire.
A railway official said more people arrived by Sunday morning trains at Egmore and Tambaram railway stations. “Egmore alone saw around 8,000 passengers arriving on Sunday. The number was marginally low on Monday morning as many had reached the city a day early to report to work,” he added.
As rail traffic has increased on inter-state trains to major metros, railways will resume the bi-weekly Rajdhani special to Nizamuddin from June 18 and have already started a special on Yesvantpur-Howrah via Katpadi route.
Similarly, railways have increased frequency of Hatia-Yesvantpur-Hatia special passing via Katpadi, Jolarpet from weekly on June 6. An additional sleeper class coach and an AC III tier coach will be added to Nagercoil – Gandhidham-Nagercoil special from June 22.