Railways, MTC still not disabled friendly

20 Aug 2008,

V Ayyappan and Jeeva ,TNN

CHENNAI: The city's buses and trains are not disabled-friendly. And they are likely to remain so for another couple of years because neither the Southern Railway nor the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) have any long-term plans to bring in major changes to accommodate the requirements of passengers with physical handicap. Though major railway stations like Central and Egmore have ramps, battery-operated cars and wheel chairs, the trains are not designed to suit the disabled. Suburban trains are somewhat disabled-friendly because they have broad doorways and their floor stands at the level of the platform. But travelling by regular long distance trains can be an ordeal for the physically handicapped because their doors, seats and toilets are simply not designed for them. And the railways do not have any immediate plan to change the design. The railways, however, are not completely blind to the needs of the disabled passengers. They introduced batteryoperated vehicles for the disabled and senior citizens at Central and Egmore railway stations. There are plans to introduce these vehicles at other stations depending on the density of passengers. "The battery-operated car cannot access all platforms at Egmore railway station because of foot overbridges. Hence, escalators and lifts are being considered as a solution," a senior railway official said. None of the suburban stations , except Tambaram and Tirusulam, have ramps. Passengers headed to the airport have to face the ordeal of negotiating the steps of the recently-opened commuter subway connecting Tirusulam railway station with the airport. In a bid to make suburban services safer, southern railway has sanctioned works to eliminate the gap between trains and edge of the platforms at Guindy, Chetpet and Nungambakkam suburban stations. However, design change of coaches will have to wait. "A new design will be time-consuming for Mail and Express trains," an official said. For handicapped persons, travelling in Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) buses can be worse. Though the MTC has allotted one seat for handicapped persons in all the buses, boarding the bus itself is almost an impossible task, especially for the orthopaedically challenged. Ramps are available only in the 10 airconditioned buses of the MTC as the transport corporation had ensured that they had the facility while purchasing the vehicles. MTC grants free travel concession for the physically and mentally handicapped provided their disability is more than 40% .

Railway expansion plan syuck in court

18 Aug 2008,

V Ayyappan,TNN

CHENNAI: Central railway station is bursting at its seams. The number of trains and passengers far exceeds the capacity of the building and also the railway lines. Southern Railway has finalised an over Rs 600-crore expansion plan to build a separate terminal on the west side of the Moore Market Complex (MMC) and to realign the railway tracks which would prevent cross-movement of upcountry and suburban trains. But now the project is mired in a legal tangle as the Indian Institute of Architects (IIA) have dragged the railways to court over its plan to redevelop railway stations across the country. The architects' grouse is that the project size is such that only foreign firms would be able to bid for it. A writ petition filed by R Ramraj, the then chairman of IIA Tamil Nadu Chapter, has also stated that no architect other than those registered with the Council of Architecture should be allowed to practise the profession in India. Ramaraj said that Southern Railway is yet to file a counter to the case. The case has been referred to the chief justice who should allot it to a judge. "We decided to challenge the redevelopment of stations because the eligibility criteria set by railways cannot be met by any of the architects in the country. The norms say that the architect should already have done a Rs 100-crore railway project and also should have received Rs 1 crore as fee. But, the railways has never planned such a huge project anywhere and hence Indian architects cannot even apply. And foreign architects are not eligible to work in India if they are not registered with the Council of Architects," said Ramaraj. Senior railway officials said that the Rs 600-crore plan got stalled because it got linked with a central plan to upgrade all major railway destinations, thereby increasing its budget. This means that passengers will have to wait further before they could get to experience world class facilities at Chennai Central. Southern Railway had planned to retain the heritage structure and build a new complex to the west side of the existing MMC to receive mainline trains and suburban trains from the Arakonam and Gudur sections. "The basic idea behind the grand plan that will be implemented in three phases, is to eliminate the crossing of trains. Usually, trains from Gudur side and mainline trains cross just after Basin Bridge train care centre. So we are planning to split the suburban lines and bring them to the two ends of the proposed new station. The line from Gudur will be realigned and brought to the east end of the terminal, while the line from Arakonam will be brought to the west end. The mainline will run in between the two dedicated suburban tracks," said a senior railway official. This will make the current MMC the hub for passenger movement while the existing heritage station will be retained. "It will be used to receive long distance trains. But, at a later date there is also a plan to bring in all trains from Gudur into the existing station," the official added. Southern Railway chief public relations officer Neenu Ittyerah said that the expansion plan will be on hold till the case is resolved.

Rlys to spend Rs 8 crore per year to keep Central station clean

Rlys to spend Rs 8 cr per year to keep Central station clean

10 Aug 2008,

V Ayyappan,TNN

CHENNAI: Faced by severe criticism over its inability to keep railway stations and railway tracks clean, Southern Railway is planning to finalise a Rs 8-crore annual contract with a private company to keep Central railway station clean. A professional firm with experience in cleaning of stations, platforms, railway tracks and coaches will be handed over the contract. The railways want to go ahead with the contract in spite of the high cost because it would attract professional agencies rather than small contractors who have been handling cleaning operations at the station so far. The earlier contract was for Rs 2 crore. "We want a complete solution to ensure cleanliness which is becoming a challenge because of high density and movement of passengers. The zone will have to explain the steep increase in the value of the contract, but we would like to approve it because the idea is to make Central station on par with railway stations in developed countries," said southern railway chief medical director Dr A Elangovan. Cleanliness has become a priority as the railways recently switched from manual cleaning to mechanical cleaning. But, availability of efficient firms to take up the works across the zone has always been a challenge. Hence, the railways made a presentation before representatives of the cleaning industry at the three-day Clean India expo on Saturday. However, cleaning industry representatives felt that stations and railway tracks could not be cleaned properly because of an anomaly in the tender system followed by the railways. "Since most of the contracts for cleaning are being awarded for a year or two, the agencies who win the contract hesitate to invest in expensive but effective machinery for cleaning. They would rather cut corners to make the most out of the contract . Specifications in the tender documents are not clear whether cleaning should be done every hour, every day or round the clock," said Eureka Forbes deputy general manager Manoj Nag Choudhury. "Southern Railway is also open to increasing the period of contract for cleaning works. We have increased it from one year to three years and may extend it to five years, said Southern Railway chief mechanical engineer V Carmelus.

Airport drivers a safety hazard

1 Aug 2008,

V Ayyappan,TNN
CHENNAI: Most airlines outsource their ground-handling operations except Indian and Air India, which have their own staff to drive the buses that ferry passengers from terminals to the waiting aircraft at parking bays. All private airlines engage agencies that claim to have a pool of qualified drivers to operate the buses, but the recent accidents at the airport puts a question mark on their claim. More than 500 workers are employed at the Chennai airport by several agencies that carry out different groundhandling work — driving passenger buses, operating cargo trolleys, loading and unloading baggage and maintenance. “All the drivers selected by agencies approved for groundhandling operations are put through several sessions of stringent regimen of training sessions before they are given airfield driving permit,” a senior airport official said. The drivers are taught the lay of the lanes and also instructed to adhere to the speed limit of 15 to 30 kmph. Since the path meant for buses that ferry passengers from the terminal to waiting aircraft often pass through parking bays, they are also instructed to look around for other vehicles like baggage trolleys or food carts. “They cannot stray out of the vehicle lane because there is aircraft movement also,” the official said. But mishaps do happen even though periodic refresher training sessions are held almost on a monthly basis. “There are officials who monitor the performance of the drivers. If found overspeeding, they are reported to the agencies and also the airline. The monitoring is strict so there have never been much incidents of violations,” the official said. Outsourcing has been stretched to its limits by the airlines who do not want to focus on issues that lie beyond their core-strength. The bus that killed Shiva, an airport worker, was driven by Leo King, who works for PSM Aviation, while the vehicle he drove belongs to SRS Travels. In cases like these, police and the AAI often find themselves in a confusing situation as to who should be held responsible for violations. Beside, involvement of multi-agencies also lead to passing the buck. PSM Aviation’s representative Sabapathy said, “Our drivers are highly qualified and experienced in driving inside the tarmac. The blame lies with Shiva who came in the way of the bus.” Interestingly, SRS Travels had another version: “The worker died because his head hit the tarmac.” Though the police have arrested and remanded the driver Leo King, the airline for which he was ferrying passengers, Paramount, does not want itself to be dragged into the issue. “We are in no way connected to the accident. The driver and the vehicle belong to an agency who are licensed to operate vehicles inside the airport. The airline should not be held responsible for no fault of its,” a Paramount official said. Airport director Dinesh Kumar said “strict norms” were followed by AAI to ensure that employees engaged by the agencies do not violate rules.

Bridge is on the way, but commuters not happy

Bridge is on way, but commuters not happy 11 Aug 2008,

V Ayyappan,TNN
Chennai: The foot overbridge which is under construction at the Hindu College railway station can become an example of the railways' poor decisionmaking . The commuters' actual needs have not been factored in. The overbridge, after completion, it appears, will not be of much use to commuters who enter and exit the station from the Hindu College side daily. Southern Railway has planned the overbridge in such a way that it will connect only the two suburban platforms. The mainline track has been left out. Hence, the bridge may not be of any use for the hundreds of students of DRBCCC Hindu College and the employees of the Food Corporation of India (FCI). They will still have to cross the mainline track to get out of the station. Statistics reveal that close to 4,000 students, 5,000 officegoers and 2,000 other commuters daily hop across the mainline track from the Hindu College side to reach the suburban platform in the station. "Commuters will benefit only if the railways extend the foot overbridge to cover the mail and express train track, and connect the Hindu College bus stop and the NH 205 on either side of the station," said Federation of Residents' Welfare Association Nemilicherry president K U Parthasarathy. "It is commendable that the railways have decided to build the bridge but they should have designed it in a proper way - connecting either side of the station - so that the commuters need not cross the tracks," he added. "When the railways decide to spend the money, they should spend it wisely," said a commuter. Residents were happy when the railways sanctioned a foot overbridge and started construction of the bridge recently . The project was approved four months ago. The residents were shocked when the work began a couple of weeks ago. "We are unhappy that the railways have decided to link only the suburban platforms. The overbridge, of course, will still be useful because commuters can use it to reach the ticket counter located on the platform between the mainline and one suburban line. But the bridge will not be of any use to the students of the Hindu College who will have to cross the mainline track," said S Umapathy, a commuter. The railways should extend the bridge over the mainline track to avoid accidents, he added. Though commuters have not been run over, the station, according to the railways, is one of the most accidentprone . Hundreds of commuters put their lives to risk by crossing the railway tracks everyday during peak hours. A senior southern railway official said that the bridge being constructed was sanctioned in 2005. "We have plans to build a new one covering the mainline tracks also. It may take another two years for that," he added.

*Queues for train tickets irk commuters

Queues for train tickets irk commuters

17 Jul 2008,

V Ayyappan,TNN

CHENNAI: P Vijayalakshmi, 35, who works in a private firm, misses a train by the time she makes her way to the top of the queue at the ticket counter in Thiruninravur station. Then she takes a Beach service and changes over to a train to Central at Perambur. She reaches her office late by 45 minutes. This is the plight of most commuters in the Chennai-Tiruvallur suburban sector because of long queues in front of ticket counters during peak hours. Close to one lakh commuters travel by surban trains everyday in this sector. Majority of the stations the route have just two or three counters to issue tickets, which are inadequate. Similar is the situation in the Chennai-Tambaram sector. The number of commuters has increased tremendously over the years, but infrastructure improvements have failed to keep pace with the needs at any of the 21 railway stations between Chennai Central and Tiruvallur. Hence, long queues in front of the ticket counters are a regular feature at stations like Avadi, Ambattur, Thiruninravur, Pattabhiram, Annanur and Tiruvallur between 7.30 am and 9 am on all week days. The number of commuters is shooting up. A small station like Pattabhiram Military Siding E Depot used to sell hardly 200 tickets a day two years ago, but now it sells 800 tickets a day. The collections, which used to be about Rs 1,000 per day five years ago has touched Rs 17,000. Federation of Nemilichery residents' Association president Nemilichery S Parthasarathy said, "There are three counters at Thiruninravur, but tickets are issued only from two counters even during peak hours. This forces commuters to wait in long queues and sometime miss trains. We have asked railways to open more counters. Season tickets are also not issued all the time." "More people should use season tickets and also the smart-card based automatic ticket vending machines to avoid queues in the suburban sectors," divisional railway manager Subodh Kumar Kulshrestha said.

Tension in cockpit on way to Bangalore

13 Jun 2008,
V Ayyappan,TNN

CHENNAI: Fifteen minutes after take-off from Kamaraj domestic airport and just easing into a cruising altitude at 25,000 feet, the pilot of a Chennai-Bangalore aircraft peers at the panel of his navigational aid, tuned into the 112.3 mhz VOR (Very High Frequency Omni Range) signal from Bangalore. To his surprise and shock, he finds he is just 20 nautical miles from the Bangalore international airport. Frantic checks reveal that he is still 90 nautical miles from Bangalore airport but the equipment is picking up another signal of the same frequency — from the naval air station at Arakkonam. This is a typical scenario encountered by pilots flying the Chennai-Bangalore or Tirupati-Bangalore route ever since the airport opened at Devanahalli, near Bangalore. When the new airport was set up, the communications division of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) selected the same frequency used by the naval air station at Arakkonam, a first in aviation history anywhere in the world. Hence, aircraft often mistake Arakkonam for Bangalore and vice versa. While flying the 150-nautical-mile distance from Chennai to Bangalore, aircraft track the wrong VOR for seven to eight minutes while covering a distance of 30 to 40 nautical miles at cruising altitude. AAI officials have acknowledged the problem and said they would “sort it out.” This becomes a safety hazard when the radar fails and air traffic controllers are forced to depend on the position relayed by pilots. “When the radar fails at Chennai, air traffic controllers ask for the position of the aircraft to plot the flight path. There is the risk of the pilot reading out the wrong information displayed in front of him. This could be catastrophic,” said a pilot flying in the sector. Though there have been no near-misses so far, “this is a high risk scenario because the Chennai radar fails sometimes. If we get wrong information about the status of an aircraft, there is a possibility of flight paths crossing,” said an air traffic controller. AAI failed to check whether any other airport was using the frequency before they assigned it for Bangalore.

Chennai-Bangalore flights go near empty

Chennai-Bangalore flights go near empty 18 Jun 2008,

V Ayyappan,TNN

CHENNAI: With travellers hesitating to fly to the new Bangalore airport because it is a two-hour drive from the city’s centre, airlines have started to combine some of their services on the Chennai-Bangalore route. Airlines that are already reeling under the impact of high cost of jet fuel are struggling to cope with low load factor on the once lucrative sector. Deccan, Kingfisher, Paramount Airways and Jet Airways are struggling to get seats filled in the sector. Since not many bookings are being made flights scheduled during non-peak hours, airlines have started to combine flights scheduled at short intervals to minimise losses. Airport sources said that there was a startling 60 percent dip in passenger bookings per flight after the new airport was opened at Bangalore. Only the first flight of the day, like the 6.20 a.m service operated by Deccan gets fully-booked. Other services scheduled later in the day suffer from low load factor. “The airlines are not getting as many bookings as they used to get when the old airport was functioning at Bangalore. The load factor has started to dip even in the morning, the peak hour,” said a senior official of Airports Authority of India (AAI). Indian has stopped its services to Bangalore while other airlines are thinking of re-scheduling their frequencies to prevent aircraft flying empty. However, airlines are yet to make a formal announcement and are managing the show by clubbing some of the services when loads go abysmally low, as in the last couple of weeks. Kingfisher Airlines, which has recently increased services to Bangalore, is monitoring the situation before deciding whethere they will have to go for a re-scheduling. Airport Director Dinesh Kumar said “We are yet to get requests for re-scheduling of services in Chennai-Bangalore sector.” A senior official of a private airline confirmed that there was a dip in passengers which together with high fuel costs had increased the cost of operations tremendously. “The number of passengers flying is decreasing drastically. This is largely because of the distance from Devanahalli to Bangalore city and also because of the high fare fixed by the airlines,” said Travel Agents Federation of India secretary Talha Rahman. Hence, travellers who once used to fly have started to drive down. Only those whose tickets are booked by the office continue to fly. J Sethuraman, who flies everytime he travels to Bangalore decided to drive down this time. “I had booked a 5 p.m flight to Bangalore from Chennai yesterday. But, my clients in Bangalore warned me not to fly. They told me to take the car, as driving down will be more cheaper and faster. So, I started at 3 p.m in my car and reached Bangalore at 8.30 p.m.”

Tourism dept woos elderly with cards

9 Jun 2008,

V Ayyappan,TNN
CHENNAI: Taking a leaf out of the marketing strategy of private resorts and clubs, Tamil Nadu Tourism is planning to introduce platinum and gold cards to provide discounts to mostly elderly tourists. With the cards mostly aimed at senior citizens, tourism department officials met morning walkers at the Marina on Saturday to get a feedback and also to educate them about the tour packages offered by the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC). The platinum card, costing Rs 5,000, is valid for 10 years while the gold card costs Rs 1,000 and is valid for three years. "Those who pay the membership fee and buy the cards will get 10 to 20 percent discounts in TTDC’s hotels, restaurants and boat houses. There will also be a 10 per cent cut in tour tariff," said Tamil Nadu Tourism commissioner M Rajaram. Instead of taking a tour and then forgeting everything about it, tourists can stay with the TTDC and use many of its facilities for years. And since it is based on membership, they will be insulated from inflationary fares. The cards were being prepared and would be launched very soon, he added. This is in addition to the 20 per cent discount on hotel and tour tariffs, except on tours to Tirupathi, for senior citizens, physically challenged people and war widows. Though several private resorts and hotels have such customer-loyality programme, this is the first time Tamil Nadu tourism is trying out the idea. Sources said the decision to introduce gold and platinum cards was taken because of the tremendous response for many of the corporation’s tour packages. Pilgrim tours covering prominent temples in the city and across the state are highly popular. Hence, "We see pilgrims come back to take more pilgrim circuits. The one-day Sripuram temple tour is getting highly popular because it is a fairly new destination in Vellore. It is second only to Tirupati tour in terms of popularity rating," an official said. The membership cards will benefit senior citizens who go on different pilgrim tours frequently. "It will also create a sense of loyalty among the customers," he added. Instead of launching the cards and then campaigning for members, the department decided to do some ground work before the launch. An interactive meet with morning walkers, members of laughter club, yoga club and others at the Marina was held at 6 a.m on Saturday. Tourism Secretary Irai Anbu, Commissioner Rajaram and other senior officials informed the gathering about the many packages and schemes of the TTDC.

Slump clips trainee pilot wings

14 Jul 2008

V Ayyappan,TNN

CHENNAI: Sulfi Leka passed out of the Miami Flying School with flying colours. Rated as the best student pilot, she was confident of landing a job with a full service airline back home in India. But her dream has been shattered - despite clearing the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) exam to convert her commercial pilot licence (CPL) for use in India, there are no takers. After several tests and interviews she has found that none of the private airlines is interested in hiring her. Finally, she got a job flying a corporate jet. Much worse is the plight of hundreds of Indian students who come back after completing training in schools in Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, UAE, USA and Germany. The demand for pilots has dropped as the industry scales back, cutting down on flights and fleets to weather the rising cost triggered by the fuel price hike. Industry experts say there would be just three or four airlines on the domestic scene in the future. The bad patch for fresh-out-of-school pilots has begun because airlines prefer experienced foreign pilots to avoid the trouble and expense of sending fresh recruits abroad for Boeing or Airbus ratings. "More than 1,000 fresh CPL holders are waiting for jobs," says flying school instructor and former director of aviation meteorology Ravi Shankar. Airline officials too confirm the numbers. Though they have not retrenched pilots, airlines have either shelved plans for recruitment or have slowed down the process. "The intake of pilots has been low in the last three months," said a Jet Airways official. Air India continues to hire but at a slow pace. "It is a long process and is aimed at meeting future vaccancies," said an Air India official. In 2007, there was an explosion of vacancies and every CPL holder was grabbed by airlines. But, "unemployment has increased because airlines do not like to send a fresh trainee pilot abroad to teach them to fly wide body aircraft. Instead, they hire a foreign pilot. The crew leasing agents too encourage airlines to hire experienced foreign pilots," said Ravi Shankar. "Pilot training takes long in India, so students go abroad. But schools abroad and some in north India do over-logging (do not allow students to fly the mandatory 200 hours, but show it on record). Such students fail to get jobs in India; they fail the simulator test," said K Venkatesh, a student of Madras Flying Club. Foreign schools mar flying dreams CHENNAI: When Ashwin Sakthiram joined Madras Flying Club (MFC) in June 2006 there were 24 students in his class. But when news of an impending boom in aviation started to trickle in, most of them dropped out and joined flying schools abroad to get a licence faster. Ashwin is still undergoing the course here, but his former classmates, who went abroad, are back with a commercial pilot licence (CPL). But "10 of them are yet to get a job. Most of the airlines ask for a CPL with multi-engine rating (which requires an additional 25 hours flying in a multi-engine plane). The fresh students do not have this. Hence, they do not get preference for jobs," he says. Besides, some of the flying schools abroad either do not provide quality training or do not allow students to complete the mandatory 200 hours flying. "This will become evident when these students take the simulator test at job screening done by airlines," he said. Ashwin was not lured by foreign flying schools and stuck to MFC because "I get quality training here and am sure of landing a job even though it takes time. The contract of the foreign pilots will get over in two years, so there will be vacancies again." Students who pledge and mortgage properties to fund pilot training abroad should realise that opportunities would be limited because consolidations and mergers would leave just three or four airlines on the domestic scene in the coming years, said former pilot Captain A Ranganathan. "This means merit will take a back seat, which it already has, and only those with money and connections will get a job as a pilot," he added.

6-hr delay in take off creates ruckus

6-hr delay in take-off creates ruckus16 Jun 2008,

V Ayyappan,TNN

CHENNAI: Passengers had a harrowing experience after a Chennai-Bangkok Indian flight was delayed by more than six hours at the Anna International terminal of the airport, on Sunday. The flight was scheduled to depart at 10.30 a.m, but left only at 5 p.m. Irritated by the prolonged delay, many of the passengers picked up a quarrel with the airline and airport staff from 12 noon. Some of the 87 passengers kicked up a ruckus and even abused the airline and airport staff alleging that the airline failed to inform them about the delay in advance. "We reached the airport at 7.30 a.m. for the check-in, immigration and security formalities. If the airline had informed us beforehand we would have not have come in this early," said a passenger. The passengers had completed the formalities and were waiting for the flight, when Indian announced at 9 a.m. that the flight would be delayed and has been re-scheduled to 3 p.m. However, some of the passengers, who were already upset that the airline did not inform them before 7 am about the delay, were further peeved when Indian again re-scheduled the flight to 5 p.m. One of the passengers flung a plate filled with food and started to quarrel with the airline and airport staff alleging that the airline was putting the passengers in trouble. He had to be pacified after much struggle, said an eyewitness at the airport. The travellers were a mix of holidayers with connecting flights to Pattaya and Phuket and businessmen with appointments with their clients or partners at Bangkok. When the second re-scheduling was announced at 2.45 p.m., passengers started arguing with the airport staff to let them get out of the security hold area to purchase food or to make bookings for connecting flights. However, this was not allowed because they had already checked-in and security clearance was completed. This complicated the situation and triggered further arguments. Tony, a businessman from Kerala, had travelled to Chennai to board the flight because he had an appointment with his partner who is in the watch business at Bangkok on Sunday evening. "I will not be able to meet him on time. The flight will reach Bangkok only by Sunday evening." Farzana, a tourist from Bangalore, said: "I reached Chennai by bus to board the flight. I expected to reach Bangkok by noon and then proceed to Pattaya. But, now my plans are ruined. I do not know whether I can travel to Pattaya late in the night." As they missed their connecting flights many will be forced to hunt for a hotel room and shell out close to Rs 5,000 to stay at Bangkok tonight. Meanwhile, Indian arran-ged food and refreshments for the stuck passengers of the delayed flight. According to an official, the flight got delayed because the incoming aircraft did not arrive on time. "We were not able to inform the passengers before they arrived for check-in because the officials were trying to make alternative arrangements. But, that did not work out. Hence, the delay," the official added. The incoming aircraft had gone to Bangkok from Mumbai on Saturday night and was supposed to have come to Chennai on Sunday morning. But, due to some reason it could not arrive on time. Though the flight came in by afternoon, Indian could not use it because there was no time to service and ready it for the return trip. Political issues and rains at destination cities have triggered cancellations or delays of flights at Chennai in the recent past. Several passengers were stuck here after flights to Kolkata were cancelled because of a bandh there declared by the ruling left government. Heavy rains at Port Blair also caused inconvenience to the travellers because airlines could not operate services properly to Port Blair. ayyappan.v@timesgroup.com

Travel at touts mercy as rly tickets get scarse

21 Apr 2008,

V Ayyappan,TNN

CHENNAI: Thangapandian, 53, is facing a different kind of heat this summer. He had promised to take his family to their hometown Tirunelveli during the vacation. But touts have spoiled his plans by blocking tickets on south-bound trains. "I doubt I can take them on a strenuous road journey in this weather. And I simply can't afford to buy the ticket in black," says this employee of a private firm at Vyasarpadi. There are many like him whose travel plans have been ruined by touts. Inquiries at the southern railway revealed that berths are not available on trains to Coimbatore, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Tuticorin, Tiruchy, Thiruvananthapuram and Mangalore on weekends during the summer. The touts block tickets with the alleged connivance of a few reservation clerks and staff of travel agents who are authorised by the railways to purchase tickets. They manage to book tickets mostly in the tatkal quota that opens five days before the date of journey. As a result, those who make their travel plans are left disappointed. Following a crackdown by the Railway Protection Force, the touts have started to obtain tickets under different names from reservation counters at Anna Nagar, MLA Quarters and airport because these centres are not attached to a railway station and hence go unmonitored. The touts then approach passengers at railway reservation counters or at the offices of the Omni bus operators."We are forced to depend on touts because the waitlist is over 100 to Kozhikode on the Chennai-Mangalore Express on any weekend. There are not many buses to my destination," said Vinod Kumar, who works in a private firm. The RPF is not able to keep out touts either because they operate in a multi-layered network. Man Singh, divisional railway manager, Chennai, said: "Vigilance wing of Railways and RPF conducts regular crackdown on the touts. The drive will be intensified in the coming days. As more people will be travelling we have introduced 487 special trains this season."

Runway extension yet to get ministry nod

Runway extension yet to get ministry nod

22 Jul 2008

V Ayyappan,TNN

CHENNAI: The state government is all set to hand over land for extension of the secondary runway at Chennai airport, but Airports Authority of India (AAI) is still awaiting the mandatory environment clearance from the union government. The government has decided to hand over 130 acres by this month-end for extending the existing secondary runway by 1,400 metres. The AAI is also planning to kickstart preparatory work for the construction by the first week of next month. However, there is still no sign of clearance from the union ministry of environment though the state revenue department and Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) held a public hearing last month and sent a report of the proceedings to the ministry. "We are yet to receive environment clearance for the project which will help enhance aircraft handling capacity of the airport," airport director Dinesh Kumar said. Meanwhile, the state government is ready to transfer the land to AAI as per schedule. "We will be handing over 130 acres acquired for the extension of the secondary runway by the end of this month," transport secretary Debendranath Sarangi said. With only 10 more days to go for land transfer, the Airports Authority of India would need clearance from the union government before it could float tenders for preparatory works. Residents had been opposing the extension of the existing runway, saying it would curb the flow of Adyar river that runs through the airport land. "The extension of the secondary runway will complicate the situation and will cause more floods in localities close to the airport. Excess water from Chemparampakkam river is let out into Adyar during the rains, causing floods on airport land every year," said Brinda Brighton, a resident of Manapakkam. Construction work worth Rs 100 crore or more should not be carried out near a water body, residents of Manapakkam had pointed out during the public hearing on June 12, while opposing the project. Sarangi said that priority was being given to the secondary runway, "but the proposed parallel runway (see graphic) will be taken up only in the next phase, as it is included as part of the larger expansion plan of the airport. The state government will sort out problems in acquiring land for the new runway." The Supreme Court had dismissed petitions filed by the residents and also a builder challenging the Madras High Court verdict, thus clearing land acquisition for construction of a parallel runway. TNPCB officials said that there would not be any hassle in obtaining environmental clearance for the secondary runway project because the runway was a non-industrial construction.

He thumbed his nose at paralysis

28 May 2008,

V Ayyappan,TNN
CHENNAI: Aswin Prasanna had to beat odds to score good marks in Class 10 examinations. A student of DAV Boys Senior Secondary School, he scored 325 out of 500 after a constant battle with partial paralysis after a spinal cord injury that robbed him of the abililty to write and the skill to play football. Persistence and hard work made him overcome his disability and he wrote the examination without the help of a scribe. "I missed a year but am happy that I finally made it, though it took several hours of physiotherapy at a doctor’s clinic. Now, I want to take up a diploma course in automobile technolog," says Aswin. And he wants to return to playing football also, after perhaps a couple of years from now. Aswin’s ordeal started, all of a sudden, when he was writing a revision examination at the school in January 2007. He developed fits and he fainted. The surprised school management informed the parents and rushed him to a hospital. Thorough checks revealed that he had an blood clot in the spinal chord in the neck. "Soon he was struck by paralysis," said R Sumati, his mother. He could not move his right hand or leg. School was ruled out and football impossible. "I underwent several bouts of depression and I was very unhappy that I could not sit for the CBSE examination in 2007. But I was sure that I had to bounce back." Sumati said that her son underwent a surgery called cervical laminectomy at Apollo Hospitals. After which doctors advised regular physiotherapy, which he is undergoing even now. Aswin returned to school in June 2007 after the management agreed to take him back. "In the initial days it was difficult to manage writing in the classrooms because my hands were still recovering from paralysis. But things improved in a couple of months. I could write only a few sentences in half an hour. But now I can write like any normal person," he says.

Two airports can make flying risky

14 Jun 2008,

V Ayyappan,TNN
CHENNAI: The proposed greenfield airport at Sriperumbudur may not complement but be an impediment to the functioning of the existing Chennai airport. The new airport, planned on 4,823 acres of land at Sunguvarchathiram in Sriperumbudur and Tiruvallur taluks, will lie on the air-corridor and on one of the designated holdover areas for aircraft approaching the current airport at Meenambakkam. Though the government is going all out with the greenfield project, experts including pilots, air traffic controllers and officials of Airports Authority of India (AAI) are worried that its proximity to the existing airport will restrict the already congested airspace if both airports are used simultaneously. The location of the proposed greenfield airport is close to the air corridor used by flights taking off and landing on the Pallavaram side of the primary runway of the existing airport. So if the two airports are going to be operational simultaneously, the efficiency of both will be crippled. This is because the Chennai airspace is already restricted by the presence of two limited flying areas - Tambaram, belonging to Indian Air Force, and Arakkonam, belonging to the Indian Navy. "A new airport just 15 nautical miles away (state government says the distance is 25 nautical miles) from the Pallavaram end of the existing airport will provide minimal space to aircraft for manoeuvre," a senior AAI official said. Some officials are not ruling out the closure of the existing airport once the much larger and modern airport is commissioned. Though specific studies are yet to be carried out, the operations wing of AAI seems to have expressed their scepticism about the project, which means that the greenfield airport could be commissioned only at the cost of the existing airport - something that goes against the government announcement that the greenfield and the expanded Meenambakkam airports would function simultaneously. Aircraft making their final approach to the existing airport have to be at a height of 1,800 ft to detect signals from the Instrument Landing System. Considering that almost all aircraft land in the city from the northwest or southwest, they would be flying low over Sriperumbudur, which is just 15 nautical miles away. Aircraft taking off from the primary runway will also fly over Sriperumbudur at a height of 3,500 ft before turning towards their destinations. "Once the new airport opens, the existing airport may not be able to use its 11,399-feet primary runway," said a pilot. Operations at Meenambakkam airport will be further crippled because the restricted airspace over Tambaram and Arakkonam - where defence aircraft fly at 2,500 ft - is not available for use most of the time. "In other words, the current airport will have to be shut down for safe, smooth and efficient operation of the greenfield airport," said Captain A Ranganathan, a retired pilot. He said the aircraft landing at the greenfield airport might also face the risk of being hit when migratory birds start arriving at Vedanthangal. "I don’t know if the environment ministry will give clearance," he added. When contacted, K Ramalingam, chairman, AAI, said it was too early to discuss feasibility of having two airports as comprehensive studies were yet to be carried out. Captain Vijay Kumar, secretary of Indian Commercial Pilots’ Association, said simultaneous operations of two airports would be difficult but not impossible. Abroad, there are cases of airports existing close by, but operations are handled in such a way that they do not clash, he said.

Tourist-friendly autos in TN

22 Apr 2008,

V Ayyappan,TNN

CHENNAI: In a bid to present a more friendly face of Chennai to foreigners, Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC) has branded a batch of 27 auto rickshaws as 'tourist friendly.' These vehicles sport a different colour code and showcase the state tourism's brand slogan 'Enchanting Tamil Nadu' and pictures of tourist spots. TTDC has trained the drivers on etiquette. The vehicles have been deployed in front of star hotels, railway stations and tourist spots, though the scheme will be inaugurated only next week. TTDC received the nod from the home and transport department to change the colour code to light yellow a month ago "These vehicles are the approved prototypes," said TTDC managing director M Rajaram. The corporation is drawing up a fare card for these autos, which would be similar to the fare cards issued by the road transport office. The auto rickshaws will offer fixed rates for half-day and full-day trips. "We have become brand ambassadors for the project. This will inspire other drivers to join us," said Ramachandran, a driver, who joined the programme. "I became interested after I attended the TTDC training sessions. Many drivers are hesitant, fearing a drop in earnings," he said. With the TTDC planning to add 12 more auto rickshaws to the scheme, Ramachandran and his friend Purushothaman are trying to get friends to join them. "We are asking them to shed their pessimism and join the scheme," Purushothaman said. The initiative is a culmination of a series of steps taken by the TTDC after they received complaints from foreign tourists that they were being harassed by auto rickshaw drivers. "More than 50 lakh foreigners visit Chennai every year, it was important to train the people who form part of the 'touch and feel' aspect of the city," Rajaram said.

Rlys low on bio diesel as oil from hotels dries up

17 Jun 2008

V Ayyappan,TNN

CHENNAI: The next time you travel to Nagercoil or Tirunelveli or Coonoor, the locomotive pulling your train may be running on used cooking oil! In a bid to cut emissions, many diesel locomotives used on non-electrified routes are being run on bio-diesel made of used cooking oil sourced from star hotels in the city. However, Southern Railway's attempt to go green is facing a roadblock - shortage of raw materials to feed its 40,000 litre a month capacity bio-diesel plant at the Loco Works, Perambur. Used cooking oil is the best raw material for producing bio diesel but as it is scarce, Loco Works uses a blend of edible and non-edible oils - like jatropha, pungam and neem- to produce the environment-friendly fuel. "We source 700 to 750 litres of used cooking oil for free from star hotels once a fortnight. We have kept barrels in hotel kitchens and collect them regularly. The idea was to re-use the oil that is wasted after use. But the quantity sourced is not adequate to meet demand now, since many hotels are not coming forward to donate used cooked oil."

Coming soon, Tsunami tourism

9 Jun 2008,
V Ayyappan, TNN

CHENNAI: Move over eco-tourism, tsunami tourism is here. The Tamil Nadu government is considering options to turn tsunami-affected villages into memorials of the disaster that killed thousands along the Indian coast on December 26, 2004. The aim is to preserve the memories of pre-tsunami days and educate visitors about the devastating impact the disaster had on these places. Tsunami tourism will also prevent these places from being completely forgotten. Areas like Mamallapuram, Poompuhar, Marina, MGR Thittu and Chinnavaykal, which bore the brunt of killer waves, are proposed to be developed - in association with the local administration - as places of tourist interest. "We will partly fund the projects," said Tamil Nadu's tourism secretary, Irai Anbu. As the first step, the Cuddalore district administration has identified Chinnavaykal and MGR Thittu - two islands vacated by fishermen after the tsunami - as potential locations to be developed into tourist attractions. The tourism department is planning to obtain funds under the eco-tourism category to develop these islands. Ravichandran, the president of Killai town panchayat under which the tsunami-affected islands fall, said the panchayat has submitted a Rs 5 crore proposal to the district administration to build a theme park on MGR Thittu island. ''The park will preserve memories of the disaster and educate students and tourists about the damage a tidal wave can cause to coastal areas. We don't want these places to be forgotten in the future, like the ancient port of Poompuhar, which was said to be destroyed by a tsunami wave," Ravichandran said. Last month, the district administration and the tourism department jointly held “Vidiyal Vizha” — or the dawn festival — at Chinnavaykal, where the sunrise is spellbinding. The island has a unique feature: Visitors can view the sunrise as well as the sunset. The dawn festival was held there for the first time in 2004, the year the tsunami struck, killing 46 on the island. The administration thought of reviving the event in 2007 but could not because of inclement weather. This year, the festival, which comprises fairs, folk dances and other forms of entertainment, drew more than 5,000 people from villages and towns. The town panchayat also spent Rs 3.5 lakh, while Rs 1 lakh was given by the tourism department.

2,000 killed on rail tracks in the state every year

21 Apr 2008
V Ayyappan,
CHENNAI: The next time you think of hopping across a railway track, think of this: close to 2,000 people die every year on railway tracks in the state. As many as 1,979 people died on the railway track in 2007 across the state. Of this, 870 deaths happened in the city. The stunned Government Railway Police (GRP) have decided to kick off a public awareness campaign to reduce the number of deaths. "Of the total deaths, 35 per cent remain unidentified. "Hence, we preserve the femur and send them to the forensic laboratory so that relatives can identify the person through DNA tests," railway police deputy inspector general (DIG) V Sivanandi said. Accidents happen because most of the passengers who do not like using foot overbridges, take the short cut, crossing railway tracks while exiting from a suburban railway station. Repeated warnings from railway officials and police have fallen on deaf ears. People who live in illegal settlements on either side of railway tracks also get runover by speeding trains when they try to cross the railway line. They use the railway embankment as toilet and get hit on foggy mornings. Passengers often cross railway line to exit from busy suburban railway stations like Tambaram, Perambur, Avadi, Perambur, Basin Bridge, Meenambakkam and Tirusulam. "On Thursday, a middle-aged man narrowly missed being run over while crossing the railway track with the train in sight at Tirusulam. He tripped and fell but made it to the other end before the train pulled into the station," said Mahesh, a regular commuter. The GRP have identified 10 railway stations in the Chennai Beach-Chengelpet section and eight stations in the Chennai Central-Tiruvallur section as accident prone. "Railway police will carryout awareness campaigns to reduce such accidents," the DIG said.

Blueprint for E Coast rail link to Cuddalore ready

Jun 2008
V Ayyappan,TNN
CHENNAI: Gazing at the shimmering waters of the Bay of Bengal while travelling down the east coast on a train to Puducherry — the possibility is not so distant as Southern Railway is all set to lay a new line from Chennai to Cuddalore via Mamallapuram and Puducherry. The project is part of an ambitious plan chalked out by the railways to connect Chennai to towns along the East Coast all the way up to Kanyakumari. Though the entire line will be executed later on, the railway board has given the go ahead to build the line from Chennai to Cuddalore at a cost of Rs 523 crore. According to the approved alignment, the 179-km line will take off from Perungudi station on the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) and traverse between Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) and East Coast Road (ECR) before reaching Jipmer at Puducherry and Cuddalore. No timeframe has been fixed for completion of the line. After Perungudi, the line will pass through Sholinganallur, Kovalam, Tiruporur, Mamallapuram, Kalpakkam, Kuvathur, Cheyyur, Marakanam, Kunimedu, Kuiyilappalayam, Jipmer in Puducherry, Bahour, Varakalpattu, Tirupadipuliyur and Cuddalore Fort. The line will run close to the sea at Mamallapuram. The railway line will run on an embankment, and as most of the ECR does not have buildings on either side, travellers will be able to have a view of the sea. Surveys to identify passenger feasibility on the route have revealed that the line will be viable as more people are travelling from Chennai to Puducherry and Cuddalore because of the recent developments along the OMR and ECR. A Perungudi-Cuddalore line will enable passengers to board an Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) to Mamallapuram and then switch to conventional trains to Puducherry or Cuddalore. Travellers will be able to reach Puducherry in two hours, as against the five hours via the current line through Chennai Egmore-Villupuram-Puducherry. A senior official of Southern Railway said, “A final survey is being done by the engineering division to update the cost before starting work. But, there will not be any change in the alignment.” Though Perungudi has been fixed as a take off point, railways is also considering other options “because they want to link the line to the main network. We are considering whether the new line can be connected to some point on the Beach-Tambaram line. This will enable it to handle long distance and freight trains,” said Southern Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Neenu Ittyerah. If the line starts from Perungudi, the operations wing has decided to operate EMUs from Chennai Beach via MRTS to Mamallapuram and conventional trains between Cuddalore and Mamallapuram via Puducherry. The board has approved the new line by including it in the supplementary budget of September 2007.

In The Times of India

Flying into the city on a wing - and a prayer14 Apr 2008
V Ayyappan,

CHENNAI: If you're planning to fly in or out of Chennai in the near future, you might not particularly want to read this. But the fact is, flight safety over Chennai's airspace is increasingly becoming a cause for concern. Struggling with outdated equipment, badly understaffed, air traffic controllers are a harried lot. At a time when aviation depends on pinpoint measurements, the 122 air traffic controllers here keep chart papers and pencils beside their monitors, because the ageing radar and slow computers force them to often depend on manual calculations. "Paucity of automated electronic tracking and communication systems and state-of-the-art computer equipment, and shortage of personnel hamper efficient handling of flights and slow down relay of accurate information to aircraft," an insider said. When radars do not function, ATCs manually calculate the speed and path of an incoming aircraft based on information given by pilots. But pilots often struggle to get a slot to transmit information to ATC when they fly into Chennai Flight Information Region. It gets worse. The transmissometer, which measures runway visual range (RVR), is out of order. So personnel from the airport Met department wait for an Airports Authority of India vehicle and drive down to one end of the runway to measure the RVR manually. But the vehicle only turns up if a driver is available. No wonder controllers, who handle 329 movements a day, are under severe stress. The AAI does not appear to have learnt from its experience in other airports. "Air traffic in Chennai is now more or less equal to what Mumbai experienced in 2002. AAI should have replicated what it did for Mumbai,” sources said. However, AAI chose to ignore Chennai ATC. The Monopulse Secondary Surveillance Radar - a highly accurate radar that can be used as stand-alone equipment or can be linked to primary radar - was installed more than 10 years ago. It is still in use. Sources said the radar breaks down often, wiping out the blips from the ATC screens and making the controllers scurry for pencil and paper to do their calculations based on the data relayed by the pilots. A senior AAI official confirmed that one of the radars often fails, but insisted it is only for 15 to 45 minutes, and is immediately rectified. "The controllers are well trained. We are also carrying out annual maintenance of the radars. Unserviceability reports are often sent to AAI for action," the official said. When contacted, AAI chairman K Ramalingam said, "The radar system does not fail completely because there is always a standby. Hence, there will not be a complete blackout. AAI has a comprehensive plan to upgrade all radar systems into state-of-the-art equipment across the country, including

Chennai airport." Plane Truths Shortage of air traffic controllers Transmissometer, which measures runway visual range, is out of order Lack of automation in the ATC tower has reduced efficiency and speed .

Satellite based airtraffic control

Now, satellite-based air traffic control at nightPublished Date: 9/13/2005 - (NIE)ENSCHENNAI,Sept 13 2005: In a bid to handle increasing air traffic movement in the southern region, Airports Authority of India (AAI) has enhanced air traffic management facilities in Chennai airport from Monday.The move includes extension of Automatic Dependent Surveillance (ADS) and Controller Pilot Data Link Communication (CPDLC) to 24 hours from its earlier limited-hour functioning. Previously, the facility was not available between 2 a.m. and 8 a.m.ADS and CPDLC are satellite-based communication systems which enable effective surveillance and communication with aircraft flying over Chennai and also with those aircraft landing at, or taking off from the airport, even in rough weather. This ensures effective navigation of the aircraft.ADS enables officials at the ATC tower to identify the exact location of a flying aircraft as soon as it enters the Chennai flight information region (FIR) which covers Hyderabad to Kanyakumari over land; and the Bay of Bengal in the east and areas of Arabian Sea, west of Thiruvananthapuram, over the ocean.On the other hand, CPDLC enables effective communication between the ATC tower and aircraft, minimising noise and weather disturbances, a feature absent in conventional communication systems.According to K Ramalingam, Regional Executive Director, Southern Region, Air Traffic Management (ATM): “The ground facilities to control air traffic was made round the clock because of the increasing air space capacity in the Chennai flight information region.”Besides, the number of aircraft that were flying over Chennai too, had steadily increased over the years, he added.Three parallel international air routes that pass through Chennai are used by international airlines to fly to Europe and Hong Kong from destinations in South-East Asia.As the maximum number of flights fly over the city during the night, availability of the new air traffic management facility at night is crucial, sources said.According to month-based statistics, 2,975 aircraft flew over Chennai in January 2001 and the number increased to a whopping 5,644 in January 2005. The arrival and departure figures at Chennai airport too have increased considerably, from 3,389 in January 2001, to 5,853 in January 2005.Hence, introduction of satellite-based communication system would enable ATC officials to better navigate the aircraft, Ramalingam said.In the recent past, AAI has introduced parallel air-route structures and reduced vertical separation (RVSM) between aircraft, to increase airspace capacity and ensure air safety. With RVSM, the vertical space between aircraft has been reduced to 1,000 feet from 2,000 feet.

Controversy rules contracts for parking lot

Controversy rules contracts for airport parking lotPublished Date: 10/7/2005 - (NIE)V AyyappanChennai, October 5: The parking lot at Chennai Airport is in the eye of a storm, with allegations of irregularities cropping up from different quarters, on the way contracts are allotted to outside agencies to handle this facility. The issue has also come under the scrutiny of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).The Airport Authority of India (AAI) had allegedly incurred a loss of crores of rupees because of non-compliance with norms, favouring a particular agency in the process, without floating tenders.According to sources, ‘‘the contract was being handled on an ad hoc basis by the same agency – Nav Bharat Entreprises – for the last three years, without calling for any quotation or tender. They are reaping benefits by paying only a nominal licence fee, which is not justified for an airport like Chennai’s, where parking charges for cars are Rs 50 or more.’’The agency is running the car park for a licence fee of Rs 31 lakh per month, while the collection was more than Rs 2.5 lakh a day, sources said.Besides, the agency does not meet any of the criteria relating to experience and turnover, and hence is not eligible for running a contract in a national and international airport. The contract requires a turnover of Rs 2.5 crore per annum according to the commercial manual.Following a complaint by Yash Marketing and Trading Company, whose offer of Rs 40 lakh licence fee had received no response from AAI, the Central Vigilance Commission registered the case and forwarded the omplaint to Airports Authority of India. A status check with the CVC website showed that the Chief Vigilance Officer’s report was recorded on September 13 and the first stage advice was sent on September 29.However, following CVC action, AAI hastily called for temporary tenders and a company had quoted Rs 70 lakh a month, according to reliable sources.The story of irregularities dates back to 2000, when the parking contract was awarded to Ravinder Joshi Medical Foundation, operated by Ranjit Madhavan and Muttu, for Rs 20 lakh per month. But two years later, the contact was terminated on flimsy grounds of non-payments, and a fresh contract was given to Nav Bharat Enterprises.Surprisingly, the new contract was awarded on an ad hoc basis without calling for any tenders, and that too, for only Rs 15 lakh a month. What is more curious, is that the new contractor-company is run by the same Ranjit Madhavan.According to sources, a senior office-bearer of the Maharashtra unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is associated with the company.Yash Marketing had written a series of letters to AAI, addressing Commercial Officers and Vigilance Officers, starting from February 2005. But, in response to a letter dated July 5, the then Vigilance GM of AAI informed Yash Marketing ‘‘to refrain from correspondence with Vigilance in this regard’’ and said ‘‘Vigilance department does not deal with tendering processes, calling spot quotations, acceptance of offers and others.’’Meanwhile, office-bearers of Airport Authority Employees Union said the car parking allotments have always been decided politically. The contract goes to the agencies favoured by the ruling parties in the Centre. A senior office bearer of the Maharashtra unit of the BJP is reportedly associated with this favoured company, which got the contract during the NDA regime. Though the company had changed, they claimed that the ownership was the same, they said.Several times, the union had raised the issue with the AAI, but had not elicited any response.H S Bains, Director, Chennai Airport, claimed that the parking contract had been given to the same party because of litigation. But with the High Court having issued instructions, efforts are on to sort things out. However, the open contract system, claims Bains, is the norm followed for letting out the car parking facility.

Intnl frieght handling soars

Intl freight handling at airport soarsPublished Date: 2/14/2006 - (NIE)V AyyappanChennai, Feb 13: Chennai airport is fast emerging as a gateway for international freight as it has registered a major increase in import and export cargo in 2005-06. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has listed the airport among the seven airports where there was a substantial jump in freight traffic.According to statistics, there is a 13.9 percent increase in international freight traffic in Chennai during April-November 2005-06 as compared to the previous year.This was achieved when there was just a 9.6 percent increase in the freight traffic, from 838.81 thousand tonnes to 919.17 thousand tonnes, registered during April-November 2005-06 as compared to April-November 2004-05.‘‘The increase in international freight traffic is because of two reasons – relaxing of import and export restrictions and peaking industrial investment in Tamil Nadu, especially in Chennai and its surrounding areas,’’ sources said. P K Reddy, Deputy General Manager (Cargo), Chennai International Airport said the maximum growth was because of the industrial development.This had led to a flurry of imports and the materials vary from machine and automobile parts to personal effects, he said, adding that manufacturing companies had started importing machine parts, electronic items and pre-assembled parts for their factories.‘‘Chennai airport has come a long way from the days when only finished leather and textiles were exported. Now, the government is encouraging export of value added products. Hence, finished leather products and apparels are increasingly exported,’’ said an airline official.Ramalingam, Regional Executive Director, Southern Region, AAI said: ‘‘Chennai has always recorded a growth in freight traffic along with Hyderabad and Bangalore. This is because the city is becoming a preferred destination for airlines, with the number of airlines operating to and from the airport going up. Plans are on to de-congest the airport by developing tier two airports in smaller cities.’’Air France and Singapore Airlines operate freighter services while new freighter services were launched by Etihad Crystal Cargo, commercial wing of UAE’s national carrier. With one of the major apparel manufacturing centres located in Tirupur, garments and fabrics form 70 percent of the export through Chennai airport. While perishables including fish, crabs and vegetables exported to South East Asian countries account for 10 percent of the exports, the rest comprise manufacturing parts, machine tools and automotive materials.Export cargo of six major airlines – Air France, Cargolux, Swiss Air, Lufthansa, Blue Dart Aviation and Jet Airways is handled by the AAI. While export cargo of British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Alitalia, Saudia, Gulf Air, Malaysian Airlines, Kuwait Airways, Sri Lankan and Emirates is handled by Air India. The export cargo of remaining airlines, including Oman Air is handled by Indian Airlines.

Deccan starts flight to Tootukudi

Air Deccan service beginsPublished Date: 4/3/2006 - (NIE)ENSThoothukudi, April 1: The much awaited flight service between Thoothukudi and Chennai was launched by Air Deccan in a formal function at the Thoothukudi airport here on Saturday.The airport that was inaugurated in 1992 had been almost deserted for the last 10 years except for the occasional chartered flight. After the inauguration, Vayudoot was the first to operate to Chennai via Pondicherry for 14 months. And long after Vayudoot cancelled its service, NEPC, a private airline, started service between Chennai and the port town through Cochin in Feb 1996, with an aim of establishing a port-to-port air connectivity. However, since NEPC circumnavigated Cochin to reach Chennai, the flight duration was four-and-a-half hours and that became the first deterrent to the service. Besides, lack of professionalism, inadequate financial back-up and lack of passenger patronage led to NEPC withdraw its service in the sector. Since then for about 10 years, flight connectivity to Thoothukudi remained a mirage. So, when Air Deccan, one of the first low-cost airlines, proposed to provide connectivity between Thoothukudi and Chennai, industrialists, businessmen and people in politics, particularly R Dhanushkodi Adithan, Tirunelveli MP, took initiatives to bring the proposal into reality.The collective initiative bore fruit and air service from Thoothukudi airport was resumed on Saturday. Speaking at the launch function, Krishnaswamy, chief- Corporate Planning, Air Deccan, said that by launching service in Thoothukudi, one of the not-so-potential destinations, Air Deccan had gone one step further in its vision of empowering every Indian to fly. He said Air Deccan had been looking forward to connecting similar towns and cities in the country at a low cost. On board the flight, which landed with 34 passengers at the airport at about 11.15 am, the service provided was said to be satisfactory. P K Venkatesan of Mathanki Construction Company, felt the quality at a low cost was satisfactory. Sundari, a first-time flight user, too expressed happiness with the service. However, Sethu, a 30-year-old man employed in Saudi, was not fully contended with the quality of service. He suggested more fans in the passengers lounge and transport facility to reach Thoothukudi bus stand and railway station, which are 16km away from the airport. After the launch function, the same flight with 42 passengers took off from Thoothukudi directly to Chennai about 12.15 pm with Tirunelveli MP Dhanushkodi Adithan flagging off the service.

Rs 80 crore revamp plan for airport

Chennai airport to get Rs 80 crore revampPublished Date: 8/5/2006 - (NIE)CHENNAI, August 4: Chennai airport is all set to get a face-lift as the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has kicked off a Rs 80 crore revamp programme.The project that will focus on increasing passenger comfort and flight safety is expected to be completed by early next year. Up gradation of secondary runway, construction of turning pads for aircraft, additional parking bays, remodelling of international arrival and domestic arrival terminal and other works will be carried out to handle soaring aircraft movement and passenger traffic.‘There is an ever growing need for night parking and also parking for the scheduled aircraft for the last three years. Hence 19 additional parking bays are being built at a cost of Rs 37 crore,’’ said Dinesh Kumar, director, Chennai airport.These bays will be suitable for wide-bodied aircraft and would meet the current and future parking needs, he added. Already two parking bays have been commissioned.‘‘The secondary runway is being upgraded at a cost of Rs 9 crore by providing turning pads at runway 12 to facilitate use of new parking bays. Widening of runway shoulders will also be carried out to ensure flight safety.The turning pad and wide shoulder will ensure safe manoeuvring of aircraft in the secondary runway.’’ In addition to this, two taxi links will also be constructed to allow access to the new parking bays.Though minor modifications to runway and also parking area might be needed for landing an Airbus 380, the airport authorities have already earmarked a designated parking stand for the jumbo aircraft.

Architects inspect terrminal land

Architects inspect new terminal sitePublished Date: 11/15/2006 - (NIE)CHENNAI, Nov 14: International architects from China, Germany and Hong Kong on Tuesday inspected the five-acre land earmarked to construct a new domestic terminal adjacent to the current building.The five design experts arrived after they were short listed from those who responded to an Expression of Interest floated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to construct a new domestic terminal to meet the demand created by the aviation boom, said Dinesh Kumar, Airport Director.‘‘The architects visited the land earmarked for new terminal so that they can present their designs that suit the location. The design will be modern and the terminal will have all facilities needed for modern day passengers.’’The team held discussions with AAI officials and was taken on a tour of the site. The AAI decided to construct a new domestic terminal because of the burgeoning passenger traffic on the domestic circuit from Chennai airport.According to statistics, domestic passenger traffic has grown by 57 percent and domestic aircraft movement increased by 63.7 percent between April and July 2006. Massive infrastructure development works are being done at the airport to accommodate increasing fleet of new domestic and international carriers.‘‘As part of this, 19 new aircraft parking stands are being added in phases. Works on new five Airbus 320 compatible aircraft parking stands are being completed including ‘taxi track link,’’’ he added.In addition to this, two parking stands capable of accommodating B-737-900 aircraft in domestic apron were made operational in September 2006, he said.Work on remaining 10 bays and two new ‘taxi links’ is in advanced stage and is likely to be completed by early next year. The new bays are meant to provide the much-needed night parking facility to the increasing airlines and their fleet.A new departure facility was added to the domestic terminal to cope with the unprecedented increase in domestic passengers out of the airport in July. Hence a 1,000 square metre departure passenger concourse module was constructed as an extension of the Kamaraj Domestic Terminal at the airport. The facility has a separate alighting point, which had decongested the earlier departure area considerably. This module is equipped with 15 sleek airline check-in counters and caters to domestic low-fare carriers like Air Sahara, Air Deccan, Spice Jet, Go Air and Indigo, said Dinesh Kumar.An exclusive feature of new departure facility is the ‘express check-in’ counters to facilitate passengers with hand baggage only.

Chennai gets ready to assist Colombo

Chennai gets ready to assist Colombo airportPublished Date: 5/1/2007 - (NIE)ENSCHENNAI, April 30: Chennai airport is geared up to accommodate civilian aircraft that may be diverted due to continuing LTTE air raids in Colombo.Highly paced sources anticipate a larger crisis on the horizon, necessitating a major diversion exercise soon.Air Traffic Control (ATC) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials, who control ground operations, are on high alert to handle flight diversions, takeoffs and landings, and flight parking if Colombo airport is suddenly closed.When a crisis similar to Sunday’s is reported, ATC personnel here will have to inform aircraft headed to Colombo via Chennai air space. They will also check available airspace to facilitate diversions and allow unscheduled landings in Chennai.“Priority will be accorded to such flights. Parking bays will be arranged and the local officials of the airline companies will be alerted to take care of passengers," said an airport source.Aircraft would be allotted aerobridges close to the terminal for quick transfers.Chennai airport can handle more aircraft, and the city has enough hotels for passengers if the crisis becomes protracted.In any case, Chennai coordinates ATC operations in south India.On Sunday, Air Sahara’s Chennai- Colombo flight was a few miles from its destination when the pilot was alerted to the crisis and told to hover for 30 minutes. He returned due to the uncertainty.But when the LTTE ‘air force’ attacked Bandaranayke airport recently, it was closed for four hours and Chennai airport handled the landings, with some flights diverted to Thiruvananthapuram.For officials, it is no different from other crises. “We often have flights returning because of bad weather," said Dinesh Kumar, Airport Director.

Airport norms breached for Azhagiri

Airport norms breached for AzhagiriPublished Date: 5/12/2007 - (NIE)V AyyappanChennai, May 11: In a major breach of security procedure and protocol, M K Azhagiri, elder son of Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, along with his wife, was driven in a car from the tarmac of the airport through ‘Gate No One,’ reserved for VIPs, when the couple arrived in the city by a Paramount Airways flight from Madurai at 9 point10 am on Friday. Sources said that Assistant Commissioner of Police (Airport) Kuppusamy escorted Azhagiri in an airlines car. An enquiry has been initiated by the Airports Authority of India and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) as the agencies were not informed of the exercise. BCAS personnel had failed to notice Azhagiri being picked up at the tarmac because an airlines car was used. The incident came to light when Azhagiri’s supporters, waiting outside the terminal, turned restive on not finding their leader emerging out of the gates.

When the blips went off screens

When the blips went off screensPublished Date: 5/16/2007 - (NIE)ENSChennai, May 15: For close to five hours the blips that denote flights over Chennai sky vanished from the Air Traffic Control screens at the Chennai airport on Tuesday. This sent them scurrying for pens and chart papers as they dusted up their knowledge of guiding flights manually without seeing them on the screens. With intense concentration, sharp analytical skills and spilt second decisions, the ATC personnel ensured safe landing and take off of more than a dozen flights at the airport, between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. Stress soared as the ATCs strained to listen to the flight position inputs radioed by the pilots of incoming and overflying flights. As they could not see the position of the flights they were supposed to guide on the screens, the ATC had to delay flights because lack of modern air traffic management mechanism affected maximum accommodation of flights on the air space. As it was peak hour, the airspace was crowded and the personnel had to work carefully and allocate safer distance for each flying aircraft as they entered Chennai airspace. Once a safe flying distance was allotted after calculating the position of other aircraft, the flights were brought in for landing. Once they closed in on the airport, the ATC on the control tower took over and brought them for a safe landing. This way they had to be in constant touch with pilots of all aircraft. When air traffic controllers dropped in for work on Tuesday evening they knew that they would have to make do with the secondary antenna because the main radar was supposed to be shut down for maintenance. But they never dreamt of the ordeal that was in store for them. Sources said that the entire system of sophisticated flight handling was thrown out of gear when the secondary radar malfunctioned. ‘‘The ATC personnel did the manual charting extremely well though it caused delays because manual flight control would mean more space between aircraft on air. Radar inputs coupled with sophisticated machines enabled accommodation of more flights in less airspace. But without these modern gadgets, the ATC personnel relied solely on their concentration skills, said a senior ATC official. He also said, ‘‘Such a scene has never occurred before though it is routine to operate using secondary radar when the main radar is under maintenance. The personnel always keep the manual charts ready as a standby to meet exigencies like this.’’ Though the situation was trying on the ATC, this was never a crisis because flights could be landed using manual traffic control.

Radars fail at Chennai airport

Radars fail at Chennai airportPublished Date: 5/16/2007 - (NIE)Chennai, May 15: Flight opera tions were disrupted after the main and standby radars failed at the Chennai airport here on Tuesday. The failure occurred at 4 pm. Consequently, as many as 16 departures and two arrivals were affected, sources said. The snag occurred after the main radar was closed for maintenance. A majority of the disrupted services were domestic flights as there was only one international service, a Chennai-Dubai flight scheduled at 8 pm, the sources said. The Air Traffic Control (ATC) used the visual flight reading system, a manual pen on paper system, to assist in airport operations. The manual system was expected to delay each flight by 10 minutes as traffic controllers had to calculate the height and the distance of the flights using radio inputs from pilots. The maintenance crew of the National Airports Division were working on the radars and they declared that by 9 pm the radars would be made functional, enabling most of the international flights to operate as per schedule. The snag that disabled the radar operations caused a lot of stress among the ATC personnel as it happened during the peak hour. The entire landing services went awry, creating confusion among both passengers and airport personnel. This is the first time a radar failure has been reported at the Chennai airport, the sources added.

Radars continue to malfunction at airport

Radars continue to malfunction at airportPublished Date: 5/19/2007 - (NIE)V AyyappanChennai, May 18: The recent ‘organised shutdown’ of radars at the Chennai Airport for maintenance does not seem to have made any difference as they continue to malfunction. Sources said that the approach radars malfunctioned repeatedly forcing the Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) to switch over to manual flight control, causing delay in landings.Every time the radars (primary and secondary radars) malfunctioned, it caused a minimum delay of 15 minutes for each incoming flight.Besides, this also puts stress on the pilots because the flights would either have to be slowed down or flown quite far from the airport for approach to the runway, said an official. This burnt up extra fuel, he added.‘‘Since congestion levels are less here, most aircraft will carry extra fuel for an additional 15 minutes only while flying to Chennai. If the radar condition remains like this, the ATC will have to provide more separation space between the aircraft. This will neccessitate more fuel for the flights coming to Chennai.’’This was what the ATC personnel had been doing yesterday. The radar seemed intermittent at around 1 p.m and then there was no radar at all for about five minutes. This forced the ATC personnel to provide incoming aircraft a separation of 60 miles, something not done when radar was available, sources said.Hence, an incoming flight scheduled for landing at 1.50 pm could land only at 2.10 pm.Meanwhile, pilots and ATC personnel said that it was high time Chennai airport had one more radar as the current radars were failing constantly.‘‘There should be an alternative frequency because Chennai is a possible landing spot for overflying aircraft in case of emergencies. If radars are not proper, such aircraft will not be able to use the airport,’’ said an official.’’ Sources said that if the problem persisted, some of the aircraft would have to be diverted to other airports because they might not be having enough fuel to hover over for a long time before landing.K Ramalingam, Southern Regional Executive Director, AAI, said ‘‘We were having problems with the radar last week. Hence, maintenance was taken up. Malfunctioning is common in electronic machinery.’’An official said that there were plans to install new radars during expansion of the airport.

Madurai airport

Madurai raring to go international
Madurai has seen a sudden surge in air traffic, a whoping 82point3 percent growth, way ahead ofsuddenother ADURAI has seen a surge in air traffic, a whopping 82.3 per cent all the 11 airports in the four states of southern region from April 2006 to March 2007.
While industry analysts attribute this to the emergence of Madurai as a favourite destination for IT investors after Bangalore and Chennai, the AAI is in the process of equipping the airport with facilities which will take it to the next level of development - an international airport.
Currently, Madurai-bound interna tional passengers continue to undergo the hardship of having to go via Tiruchy or Chennai.
Nevertheless, the AAI has kicked off a Rs 70-crore short-term augmentation project, which involves increasing the length of the runway to 9,000 feet, expansion of aprons to accommodate four aircraft and linking of the terminal building for baggage clearance. In addition, an integrated terminal building will be constructed, said K Ramalingam, regional executive director, Southern Region, AAI.
This will enable the authority to equip the airport to meet further increase in passenger and aircraft traffic necessiated by IT investments. The AAI had also asked for 500 acres from the State Government to extend the runway as the already available space was used to the maximum, he added.
As the airport caters to the needs of residents of Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga, Theni, Virudhunagar, Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts, there have been demands to start international services, especially to Gulf countries and South East Asia.

AAI to develop small airports

Poised for runway successPublished Date: 7/11/2007 - (NIE)
V Ayyappan
AS low-cost airlines are eager to connect smaller towns with metros, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has received a mandate from the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation to revive small airports and airstrips.
The agency has turned its attention on smaller airports in Salem, Puducherry, Vellore and Tuticorin and is all set to spruce them up and provide more facilities.
Of these, only Tuticorin is operational with Air Deccan operating a Chennai-Madurai-Tuticorin service everyday. However, as more number of people from small towns have evinced interest in air travel, low-cost airlines and also full service car riers have started enquiring with the AAI about the feasibility of starting services from Salem and Puducherry airports.
The smaller non-operational airports will get a new lease of life as the unexpected boom in aviation, powered by low-cost domestic carriers, has forced the AAI and the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation to move away from traditional norms and yardsticks used to develop airports.
''Earlier, the government looked at feasibility. If a proposal was sent to develop a small airport they used to ask 'who is going to fly there'. And that used to be an excuse to block funds, said a senior official.
But, things have changed now. ''We have been told to keep all airports ready so that the airlines will be encouraged to start operations,'' he added.
And the new policy is paying off. When the AAI had put up terminals, parking bays (two B737 aircraft can be parked), and navigational aid and repaired the runway of 6000 feet at Salem airport, a few airlines had started thinking of starting services, said K Ramalingam, Regional Executive Director, Southern Region, AAI.
Even though many airlines have not confirmed their intention to start services, AAI is going ahead with their development plan. ''A night landing system will be installed very soon,'' he added.
Similar is the case with Puducherry airport. After several years of disuse (only flight training school used the airport), Jagson Airways started commercial operations in June 2006 when AAI had repaired the terminal and upgraded the fire station.
However, the service has been discontinued for reasons other than infrastructure. Still, the AAI is planning to put runway lighting very soon, he said.
The AAI is also planning to revive the Vellore air strip into a proper airport amidst local demand.
Already, works were completed for providing bare necessities to operate small aircraft. A flying club is already using it as a base. It has a runway of 2,600 feet though modern navigational aid is yet to be installed. The AAI seems to have promised to take up the works after the Greenfield airport and airport expansion project were finalised for Chennai.
The Vaigaikulam airport of Tuticorin opened for commercial flight operation when Air Deccan's Chennai-Madurai-Tuticorin landed at the airport in the first week of April 2006. Now, AAI is planning to upgrade the airport by providing runway lights and night landing system.
The terminals were refurbished and fire and rescue service equipment were installed in the airport, which has a runway of 1,350 feet, suitable for ATR-42 model aircraft.

More flights to take off from Chennai airport

More flights to take off from Chennai airportPublished Date: 2/17/2006 - (NIE)
V Ayyappan
Chennai, Feb 16: With more airlines set to start services out of Chennai airport, the city is poised to see a growth in air connectivity in the coming months.
While Air India Express is planning to start services to south east Asian destinations and Air Deccan to Tuticorin, Jackson Airlines has sought permission to fly between Chennai and Pondicherry.
Sources said the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had been receiving several requests from airline companies seeking permission to operate fresh services and also for increasing frequencies out of Chennai.
Following completion of formalities, Air India Express will launch its service from Chennai to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur either by the end of this month or in March. Air Deccan is slated to start its Chennai-Tuticorin service by March 15.
Meanwhile, Jackson Airlines, a US-based low-cost airline company has applied for a slot to operate services between Chennai and Pondicherry, said K Ramalingam, Regional Executive Director, Southern Region, AAI.
On the cargo sector too, capacity augmentations are likely in the coming months as Emirates SkyCargo plans to up its freighter service to eight from the current four weekly flights.
The airline will now offer around 135 tonnes of belly-hold capacity every week to Chennai. This is supplemented by Emirates SkyCargo's Boeing 747-200F freighter, which flies to Chennai once a week offering a capacity of 105 tonnes.
Ramalingam said Chennai was fast becoming a preferred destination for airlines as ''we have been receiving a good number of applications for operation of services. But, the final decision will be taken by the Delhi office after checking the feasibility of the requests.''
He said that 38 airlines are operating out of the city airport.
The requests follow a higher growth rate in passenger traffic and aircraft movements recorded at the Chennai airport in 2004-05 when compared to other metros. Recently, international airlines increased frequency of their services in November and December, while Paramount Airways started its Chennai-Delhi service in December and the company plan to shift their base to Chennai.
Jet Airways too had started their new international service to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore from Chennai in May 2005.

Airport gets modern conveyor machines

Airport to get modern conveyor machinesPublished Date: 6/29/2007 - (NIE)
V AYYAPPAN
As part of the efforts to modernise baggage delivery by incorporating security features, slope-bay baggage conveyor belts would be installed at international and domestic arrival terminals of the airport.
About 12 slope-bay userfriendly baggage conveyor belts will be installed at a cost of Rs 3.5 crore under the project initiated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to modernise airport facilities on a par with international airports. These new machines will replace the old flat-surface conveyor machines, which has been phased out at the airports abroad.
Of the eight new conveyor belts planned for international arrival, four had already been installed at Phase I arrival, built by renovating a portion of the existing arrival. The remaining four would be installed at Phase II of international arrival,an official said.
Another four units would be installed at the Phase II of Domestic Arrival when it would be completed, he added. ''More than 12 machines may be installed at the airport because the AAI want to augment baggage handling capacity in domestic arrival.'' These world-class baggage conveyors were being imported and installed for the first time in the country.
The AAI has opted for these because the flat surface machines had become obsolete. The slope type machines were quite user-friendly and secure, an official said.''The in-built scanner will be used to monitor the baggage fed into the belt by handlers from the tarmac area. This is an added advantage to ensure security,'' he added.
The four new belts were used for the first time when the newly renovated international terminal was put on trial a couple of days before the terminal was recently inaugurated. However, the conveyors are idling because it would take somemore time before the terminal would be opened for use.

A Passage to Chennai

A passage to ChennaiPublished Date: 6/9/2007 - (NIE)
V AYYAPPAN
Chennai, June 8: A new arrival terminal with stateof-the-art facilities was put on trial at the Anna International Airport here on Friday.
The terminal, being built at a cost of approximately Rs 30 crore, has been readied to put in place a twin arrival terminal for international passengers. The 14,400 sqft facility has been built by renovating a portion of the arrival building.
More than 400 passengers who arrived by a Bangkok-Chennai Thai Airways flight used the terminal while senior officials of the Airports Authority of India gathered feedback from them.
Sources said the terminal was nearly complete with four modern inclined bay baggage conveyor belt units and 22 customs booths in place.
''Only a couple of minor changes and passenger flow routes toward the exit need to be effected,'' said a senior officer. After that, the terminal would be ready for commissioning within a week or two, he added. Subsequently, the currently used arrival area will be renovated.
Passengers said the facility was certainly an improvement. Mohanty, a frequent traveller, said : ''The terminal is very good though a couple of more features like signages need to be put up.'' Dinesh Kumar, airport director, told Express : ''The date of commissioning will be decided after making a few more changes."
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