Stone surprise

It is intriguing that the passage leading to the Kodambakkam suburban railway platforms presents a solid concrete stone bang in the centre. They are puzzled because the stone serves no apparent purpose.

Remember that at dusk, this passage is plunged in darkness and unless you are a regular commuter, you may not be able to spot this stone. The results of such failure are all too imaginable.

In the background is the staircase leading to the platforms. More about that later. I am riding a lot of trains these days and have come to call these staircases the "42 steps."

Here are a few pictures from the past couple of days. This is what Chennai's suburban railway looks like. More to come, of course.

A three car train that runs between Thirumailai (Mylapore) and Chennai Beach:

The new train information system installed with the sign "on trial" at Kodambakkam station. It did not appear to be too accurate and as you can see, there is no clock in the board itself. You would have walk further on the same platform to spot the clock! If this system had been electronic (as it is in airports and even some major Indian railway stations) many display terminals could be connected to show the same information. So why is the wheel being reinvented?

The inside of some of the more recently introduced trains on the Chennai suburban railway looks like this. Considering the ramshackle past, this is welcome, but it lacks system maps and wastes opportunities to communicate useful information to a large commuter population. Note the man squatting in the passage (partly seen). Quite common in Indian trains.