CHENNAI: The Southern Railway will soon demolish an old foot overbridge (FOB) whose pillars are located too close to tracks on platform one of Guindy railway station, violating the safety norms. This comes as a new 12-m wider pedestrian FOB linking the eastern entrance (Race Course Road side) with the metro station on the western entrance (GST Road side) nears completion.
The new FOB built at an estimated cost of Rs 6.5 crore will provide seamless connectivity to passengers from all five platforms to the exits on both sides of the station. According to an official from the Chennai railway division, 98% of the work has been completed and it has already been opened for public use.
“Some minor civil works are currently underway to enhance access at both entrance sides, and they will be finished in a few days,” said an official, adding that the old FOB will be demolished once the new FOB is commissioned.
The safety manual of the railways specifies that the minimum distance between the centre of the track and a permanent structure should be at least 2.36m. However, two pillars of the existing FOB are situated at 2 to 2.15m. A detailed report highlighting the dangers faced by passengers was published by TNIE on March 7, 2022.
The second platform on the western side, also known as the ‘double discharge’ platform, was developed in 2021 to reduce congestion on the stair at platforms two and three. Before the construction of the new platform, the western side of the track was enclosed with a concrete wall. However, after the new platform was developed, two pillars of the FOB on the western side were positioned too close to the tracks.
R Pandiyaraja, a former member of the Zonal Railway Users’ Consultative Committee for the Southern Railway, said, “The ceiling of the old FOB had plaster peeling at several places, and there were cracks on the parapet wall and pillars. The structure should have been demolished much earlier.”
In July 2018, seven commuters who were travelling on the footboard of a suburban train were killed after colliding with a concrete wall abutting two platforms at St Thomas Mount Station.