CHENNAI: Installation work on nine lifts and 10 escalators have been expedited at Tambaram railway station following a TNIE report highlighting the difficulties faced by passengers, particularly the elderly and persons with disabilities, due to the lack of lifts or escalators on six platforms at Tambaram railway station. The station is one of Chennai’s three major NSG-1 category stations, which sees a daily footfall of 1.78 lakh passengers.
In an official communication on Saturday, the Chennai Division of Southern Railway said that two lifts each at the western and eastern entrances, and one lift each connecting platforms 1-2, 3-4, and 9-10, would be opened for public use shortly. Work on two more lifts, one connecting platforms 5-6 and the other connecting platforms 7-8, is being expedited, with both expected to be opened by the end of November.
Five escalators — two at the western entrance, two connecting platforms 3 and 4, and one connecting platforms 9 and 10. These are expected to be opened by mid-November.
Installation work on the remaining five escalators is being taken up on priority, with all five expected to be operational by December. These include one each connecting platforms 1 & 2 and platforms 5 & 6, two connecting platforms 7 & 8, and one at the eastern entrance.
Southern Railway had also said that porters have been instructed not to carry passengers on luggage trolleys and to use wheelchairs instead. They had also been instructed not to charge more than the prescribed rate.
Activist Dayanan Krishnan said the timely completion of these works would significantly improve passenger convenience and accessibility, providing much-needed relief to commuters ahead of the December holiday rush and the Pongal festive season.
