The ordeal of having to climb the steep foot overbridge (FOB) connecting the Moore Market complex with the Park railway station will soon come to an end for commuters frequenting this area. For, escalators are being installed to replace the FOB.
The Chennai Metro Rail Ltd (CMRL) workers started work on the installation of a modern escalator near the existing FOB on PH Road. According to railway officials, the escalators would replace the steel bridge and will be ready for use next week.
This development follows several complaints by pedestrians, especially women and senior citizens who find it arduous to climb the bridge, which has 50 steps, while they are in a hurry to board suburban trains at the Park railway station from Chennai Central.
Many pedestrians have welcomed the measure.
“I cross the PH Road because it is difficult to climb the staircase and it leaves me panting,” said Mohammad Irfan, a commuter from Basin Bridge.
Every day, more than 2.5 lakh people use the Central railway station mainly to board long-distance trains. For years, commuters including tourists at the Central railway station, used a subway that connected the Moore Market complex and the Park railway station to board suburban trains. Due to the ongoing underground station work as part of the Metro Rail project, the four-decades-old subway was closed last May by CMRL. The steel FOB was constructed to provide an alternative route for pedestrians to reach either side of PH Road. But, many commuters skipped the bridge and walked along a pathway earmarked on both sides of the PH Road, to reach the railway stations.
During rush hour, the crowd from the pathway spills on to the road resulting in traffic chaos and accidents. CMRL officials reasoned it out that the FOB was designed to have steep stairs because the facility has to be at a height that would not hinder the movement of container trucks that come from Sriperambadur, Irungattukottai and Tada industrial areas and go to the port.
“Considering the safety of the pedestrians, the escalators are being built. It would also ease traffic movement on the stretch,” said a CMRL official.
