No parking lots for 2 Metro stations on new stretch

Only three stations will have parking space in the next stretch of Chennai Metro Rail from Little Mount to Chennai airport.

According to officials of the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), of the six stations, only Little Mount, Chennai airport and Guindy will offer commuters the space to park their vehicles.

“In Little Mount, we may not have sufficient space. But, there is a substantial amount of land in Chennai airport and Guindy stations. Though we want to provide parking in other stations like Nanganallur and Meenambakkam, we don’t have land,” an official said.

Of the seven stations in Metro Rail’s first service from Koyambedu to Alandur, only CMBT has no parking lot. Koyambedu and Alandur have the largest parking spaces. Alandur is a common station on both stretches — Koyambedu to Alandur and Little Mount to Chennai airport. CMRL earned about a crore in the past year from parking facilities alone.

Non-availability of parking space in the next stretch is likely to leave commuters very disappointed, CMRL officials admit. “The parking lots in many stations on the first stretch are full almost every day. For instance, in Koyambedu, it is quite difficult to find space for your vehicle during peak hours,” an official said.

N. S. Srinivasan, former director of National Transportation Planning and Research Centre, said that parking space is provided for commuters in Metro Rail facilities across the world.

“We can’t expect commuters to walk to the stations in the heat and rain. When there is no feeder service, many commuters will come to the station in a vehicle. When we are encouraging people to use Metro Rail, we should also think about providing the required facilities for them,” he said.

Of the six stations, only Little Mount, Chennai airport and Guindy will offer commuters the space to leave their vehicles