Avadi train passengers seek digital coach position display boards to avoid last-minute rush

Chennai: For passengers boarding express trains that halt at Avadi railway station, finding the right coach has become a race against time. Unlike other major railway stations, Avadi's platform 4 (the other three cater to suburban trains) has no electronic coach display boards, forcing passengers carrying heavy luggage to run along the platform searching for their coaches before the train departs.Avadi is a key station on the Chennai Central-Arakkonam route and has four platforms. It caters to thousands of commuters, including employees of defence establishments, the Tamil Nadu Special Police, CRPF and Air Force training centres.Commuters said after years of struggle, they managed to secure stoppages for express trains at Avadi. As of date, four express trains, including the Thiruvananthapuram-Chennai Central Express, Alappuzha-Chennai Central Express, Chennai Central-Mangaluru Express and Tirupati-Chennai Central Garudadri Express, stop at the station.

The Chennai Central-Mangaluru Express halts at Avadi in both directions.Those travelling to Keralam, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka board the express trains from platform 4. However, passengers said the lack of coach indication boards is a major inconvenience. With no digital or movable physical coach position boards on the platform, travellers often have only a few minutes to locate their reserved coaches after the train arrives, especially after the introduction of LHB coaches on several express trains.

A 24-coach ICF train and a 22-coach LHB train are nearly the same length, but passengers said coach positions often differ, making it difficult to predict where a particular coach will stop. LHB coaches, which are gradually replacing older ICF coaches, are designed for higher speeds and improved safety.A Roy Rosario, president of Pattabiram Rail Passengers Association, said, "The Railway Board has specified that stations where express trains halt should have coach indication boards.

Avadi does not even have physical boards that can be adjusted according to the arriving train. Railway officials should install digital coach display boards at the earliest."A senior Southern Railway official, requesting anonymity, said Avadi railway station redevelopment will be part of the second phase of Amrit Bharat scheme. The project includes platform widening, improved passenger shelters and installation of digital coach indication boards, and will be taken up after the proposal receives approval.