Come February, passengers at the Central Railway Station will have more space to chill out ahead of the summer, with railways planning to inaugurate a new pre-paid air-conditioned waiting hall. The key terminal will also have more toilets for Persons with Disabilities (PwD) as a part of the initiatives carried out at the heritage station.
The new AC waiting hall, coming up on the first floor, is in addition to the air-conditioned waiting hall already functioning at the ground floor. “The new facility will have seating capacity for 100 people with arrival and departure display boards, televisions and toilets,” a railway source said.
All passengers with valid train tickets can use the air-conditioned waiting hall by paying a prescribed user fee, the source added.
On an average, over 3 lakh people visit the station, where about 100 long distance trains depart and arrive, including express and mail services passing through the station. Making the iconic structure accessible to PwDs, the station will also have more accessible toilets for their convenience. Toilets are already available in the concourse area for PwDs and the additional toilets will be constructed in the adjacent waiting lounge.
Activists fighting for the rights of PwDs have demanded that authorities convert the station into a premises that is completely barrier-free by introducing a few more initiatives.
S Namburajan, general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Association for the Rights of All Types of Differently Abled and Caregivers (TARATDAC) said steps must be taken to issue unreserved tickets for the disabled at the platform ticket counter, as they face undue hardships going to Moore Market Complex for this.
Stressing that it is the need of the hour, he said, “A parking lot must be provided for PwDs as per provisions of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995.”