In an effort to reduce the amount of land acquired for the Phase II project, the Chennai Metro Rail has decided to build smaller stations.
According to officials of the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), the length of a station box (the area of a station) has been reduced by 70 m compared to the size of the stations in the Phase I project.
In Phase I, the length of a station is 220 m, which will be brought down to 150 m in Phase II.
“However, no compromise will be made on any of the essential facilities. Based on the calculations we have made, we know that this space is sufficient for to accommodate all facilities,” an official said.
No place for stalls, kiosks
However, there will be no space for property development such as setting up stalls or kiosks, the official added.
The Phase II network aims to cover a larger area of the city, and when asked whether land acquisition would affect residents, an official said they were planning to build on government land for the majority of the project. “Nearly 80% will be government land and the remaining 20% from private persons. We are trying to design the alignment of the network in such a way that it does not cause major incovenience to residents,” the official added.
