Eight years ago, a mere six-month-old Chennai Metro Rail system that connected only a 10-km stretch from Koyambedu to Alandur came to the rescue of the people of Chennai during heavy rain. Today, it has once again turned out to be a lifeline and a reliable mode of transport for several people who were stranded in different parts of the city owing to flooding and had to necessarily commute.
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Trains started operating from 5 a.m. and continued to run till the end of the day without any disruptions. On December 5 too, Chennai Metro Rail will function as usual from 5 a.m. till 11 p.m.
According to officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), the majority of passengers who took trains on Monday were either heading back or to one of the transport hubs like railway station or airport. “Since we have a station at all transport hubs, thousands of people found it convenient to use the service, since most of the roads are inundated. Majority of the travellers carried baggage and we saw a lot of footfalls to and from Chennai airport, CMBT, Chennai Egmore and Chennai Central,” he added.
St. Thomas Mount metro rail station couldn’t be used largely due to heavy flooding of the parking area. At Koyambedu, CMRL asked commuters to board via the foot overbridge due to waterlogging in the approach roads. Most of the other stations remained accessible to commuters.
Residents park vehicles in CMRL stations
With many streets getting flooded, a section of residents parked their cars and two-wheelers at the parking lots of the Chennai Metro Rail stations. Most of these parking lots are located at an elevation from the road, thereby preventing water from entering the exhaust of the vehicles. A few Metro Rail commuters, who came in their personal vehicles to park and board the train, were asked by staff to park the cars elsewhere as the parking lots were full.