Commuters may soon be spared the effort of climbing over fifty stairs to get to the foot overbridge at Tambaram railway station. Southern Railway on Saturday commenced civil works for providing escalators the station.
The facility will benefit at least a few lakh suburban passengers who use Tambaram railway station, with senior citizens likely to find it really useful.
On Saturday, civil works began at western side of the double discharge platform 1.
A similar escalator would also be constructed on the eastern side of the railway station. Both are expected to be completed in three months time. Southern Railway officials said that escalators would be about 2.5 metres wide and that they could be operated on both directions.
However, it would be operated mostly for those on their way towards the foot overbridge. Access to the foot overbridge through an escalator was a demand that frequently cropped up among commuters at Tambaram. Very few stations in the area, with the exception of Chennai Central and Egmore, have escalators.
More than 250 suburban electric train services run through Tambaram and about 2 lakh commuters use the station every day. The escalators will also benefit long-distance passengers who cary heavy baggage.
Southern Railway officials hinted at the possibility of more escalators linking the foot overbridge and the main line platforms in the near future. Currently, there are focussing on conversion of the now defunct metre guage line and other works as part of the Coaching Terminal project, the officials added.