Metro Rail has started the installation of platform screen doors (PSD) in Thirumangalam and Anna Nagar Tower Metro Rail stations.
According to officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), these doors, installed in the flanks of platforms, are meant to act as a “protective barrier” to prevent commuters from getting onto the tracks.
“These doors will be installed in such a way that they are in synchronicity with the train doors. The PSDs will open only when the train arrives and halts,” an official said.
Preventing suicides
The proposal to install these doors was mooted following several mishaps in other Metro Rail networks like Delhi and Kolkata.
Several commuters in Delhi and Kolkata stations jumped on the tracks and committed suicide. It was then that the plan to install these doors emerged.
“These doors will be installed only in the underground stations of Chennai Metro Rail,” an official said.
The next stretch
Chennai Metro Rail, built at a cost of Rs. 14,600 crore, covers a 45 km stretch.
Of this distance, 24 km will be underground and the rest is elevated.
The first elevated stretch of Chennai Metro Rail was launched in June last year between Koyambedu and Alandur.
In the coming months, the next stretch between Little Mount and Chennai airport will be opened.
These two stations where the PSDs are now installed are part of the stretch between Thirumangalam and Nehru Park, which may be thrown open for the public by the end of the year.
The doors at the flanks of platforms will open only as the train arrives
at a stop