The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : An ordeal for commuters at Egmore railway station

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Tuesday, May 20, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

An ordeal for commuters at Egmore railway station

J .Malarvizhi

Staircase leading to the overbridge too narrow

— Photo: M. Karunakaran

Jam packed: Suburban train commuters make their way through the narrow staircase that connects the over-bridge and the exit points in the Egmore railway station.

CHENNAI: Entering or exiting the Egmore railway station from an entrance near the suburban ticket counter on Gandhi Irwin Road is proving to be an ordeal for commuters during rush hour.

Most passengers pick up their tickets at the counter and take the nearest staircase to the overbridge to cross over to the platforms used for suburban trains. The staircase is jam-packed during rush hour. Passengers getting off express trains with heavy luggage and unfamiliar with the station often find their way to this staircase as well, compounding the problem.

“The authorities can widen the staircase or put up a median down the middle to ensure that people keep to one side while moving in a particular direction,” said J. Leela, a commuter. An escalator at the location would be particularly useful for the elderly, she said.

The steps are worn out and uneven in several places, another commuter complained.

The escalator installed at another end of the station is not of much use to the suburban commuters who buy their tickets a few hundred metres away.

Officials said that they had not received any complaint specific to the staircase. The over-bridge has multiple points of entry and exit and it is possible to access it from the first platform as well.

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