CHENNAI: Rail commuters will no longer have to dish out more for taxis and autos during peak hours to reach Chennai Airport and CMBT terminus, with the metro train being linked with Central and Egmore station on Friday. The Chennai Airport - Nehru Park service has been extended till Central via Egmore.
Similarly, the metro on the Airport-Chinnamalai stretch will run upto AG-DMS.The services in the 2.7 km stretch between Nehru Park and Central and 4.5 km from Saidapet to AG - DMS were flagged off by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Housing And Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri. The duo also inaugurated Egmore, Central, Saidapet, Nandanam, Teynampet and AG - DMS metro stations.
Fare from Central to airport is `70, while between Central - CMBT it is Rs 50. The fare is Rs 60 to reach airport from Egmore. The ticket from Saidapet/Teynampet/Nandanam to airport will remain at Rs 40.
The most convenient and hassle free metro train connectivity to Central and Egmore - two busiest stations in the city, is expected to reduce congestion on roads. The Egmore and Central stations together handle about 1.20 lakh passengers a day. This includes both suburban and non suburban passengers. The two stations have daily trains to all major cities across the country.
According to railway records, more than 50 per cent of passengers use suburban trains for reaching their destinations while the remaining opt for MTC buses, autos and call taxis.Cashing in on the demand, call taxis and autos collect surge pricing during peak hours. To travel from Central to airport, call taxis charge between Rs 380 and Rs 450 and during 5 pm and 9 pm. Similarly, to go to CMBT from Egmore/Central, passengers have to pay between Rs 200 and Rs 250.
The additional metro connectivity is expected to provide a huge relief for passengers as they no longer need to depend on call taxis for faster travel. “Though the metro train goes to airport taking a detour via CMBT and Anna Nagar, it will reach the destination within 60 minutes. Once the Central-DMS metro link is thrown open for traffic, the Central-airport travel time will come down by 35 to 45 minutes,” said metro officials.
CMRL officials said as of now, a train from Central metro station will leave for airport every 15 minutes during peak hours and depending on the patronage, the services will be increased.While welcoming the connectivity, a few passengers said the subway connectivity and pavements to reach Central should be repaired.K Mohan, a passenger, said metro trains will be one of the shortest and affordable mode of transportation to reach CMBT. “However, the subway from metro station and footpath from subway to Central needs to relaid. The escalators and lifts also should be repaired at the earliest,” he said.