Plans afoot to link Mint bus terminus, Metro station

Mint Bus Terminus, in North Chennai, will get a new look soon as CMRL is set to redesign the facility which was taken over for construction of Washermenpet metro station about five years ago. 
Garbage, collected for months in the Old Mint Bus Terminus (Vallallar Nagar), has been removed by Chennai Metro Rail Limited as the terminus is set to be handed over to MTC soon. The CMRL had taken over the facility for construction of Washermenpet underg
Garbage, collected for months in the Old Mint Bus Terminus (Vallallar Nagar), has been removed by Chennai Metro Rail Limited as the terminus is set to be handed over to MTC soon. The CMRL had taken over the facility for construction of Washermenpet underg

CHENNAI: Mint Bus Terminus, in North Chennai, will get a new look soon as CMRL is set to redesign the facility which was taken over for construction of Washermenpet metro station about five years ago. 
Officials of CMRL said Metro Rail has planned to link the bus terminus directly to the entrance of Washermenpet Metro station. ‘’This will help in better facilitation between the two modes of transport.”  

The decades old bus terminus had two bus bays and since a new flyover was constructed across Mint up to Stanley Hospital recently, entrance to the old terminus will be obstructed. So, CMRL is building new bus bays close to the Metro Station. 

Apart from this, the new look terminus will have passenger amenities like waiting area and toilet facilities. Ever since Washermenpet metro station began functioning this year, the old bus terminus was left in neglect which resulted in it turning into a garbage dumpyard. Public also used the place for defecation.Buses were parked half-a-kilometre away at a temporary terminus down the Basin Bridge Road. That too lacked toilets and drinking water facilities for drivers and conductors.

TNIE had reported in June how the temporary terminus neither had shelters for buses nor a compound wall to prevent stray animals from entering.However, now that work has actually begun after a long delay, MTC staff at Mint heave a sigh of relief. “During summer, the inside of the buses gets hot because of parking in the open. Passengers are scared of stray cattle inside the terminus,’’ said a bus driver.  

MTC staff said restoring the old terminus with amenities will help drivers and conductors.Mint (Vallalar Nagar) is an integral bus terminus which connects north Chennai to other parts of the city. More than 30,000 passengers use it everyday. Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) officials said the delay was due to design in reconstructing the terminus. Work has begun and the facility will be returned to MTC soon, they said. 

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