CHENNAI: In a month’s time, suburban commuters at Mambalam railway station will no longer need to climb the daunting foot-over bridge to access the West Mambalam side of the station. Nor would disembarking passengers on the Tambaram-Beach line be forced to jostle for space with those on the opposite line at the same platform.
Speaking to Express, a senior railway official said that work on the double discharge platform, so referred because it allows a two-way exit for passengers, is fast progressing.
“Work on the platform is expected to be completed by August. During the current year, double discharge platforms were proposed for nine suburban stations. But while work on platforms at seven stations have not yet started, they have been taken up at Mambalam and Tambaram,” said the official.
Chromepet, Pallavaram, Guindy, Saidapet, Chetpet, St Thomas Mount and Egmore are the other stations where the facility is slated to come up.
At Mambalam station, such a facility is needed as average footfalls can easily exceed five lakh during weekends due to its proximity to the popular shopping locality of T Nagar.