Paying parking fees digitally at railway stations remains a hassle for commuters in Chennai

While Southern Railway has been promoting the use of digital payment systems for purchasing tickets, commuters are having a hard time paying parking fees digitally at railway stations across the city. This is mostly because contractors, who oversee the parking spaces, do not follow a uniform system of accepting digital payments.

Southern Railway has been pushing for the use of digital payment systems on the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation website as well as the UTS app in a big way. As part of this, it even provides discounts for tickets bought using these modes.

The Chennai division maintains over 100 parking spaces at railway stations across the city and its suburbs, where thousands of commuters park their vehicles by paying monthly or daily fees. N. Damodaran of East Gopalapuram in Pattabhiram said digital payments were not accepted by the contractor at the Hindu College railway station’s parking. He said commuters at Avadi and Pattabhiram railway stations faced a similar problem, with the digital payment facility not being available at the parking spaces there.

Commuters using the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS), operated between Chennai Beach and Velachery, complained that the parking contractor did not accept digital payments for purchasing monthly passes or daily parking tickets at stations including Perungudi and Taramani.

S. Venugopal of Annai Indira Nagar said while the parking contractor at the Velachery railway station accepted digital payments, the one at the Perungudi station did not.

Commuters want railway officials to check regularly that the parking contractors accept digital payments for fees. A senior official of the Chennai division said according to the contract awarded for managing parking spaces at railway stations, accepting digital payment of parking fees was mandatory. In case this is not done, commuters can register their complaints on the railway helpline and action will be taken against the contractors in question, he added.