Metro throws parking off track at Central

After the ‘premier’ space was closed, the normal lot is invariably full during peak hours

Due to the ongoing Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) work near the Central station in Chennai, parking and movement around the area have become a nightmare for passengers.

With the ‘premier parking’ space — which used to accommodate about 70 cars — closed two months ago to enable CMRL work, cars dropping or picking up passengers have to squeeze into the normal car parking lot, which is invariably full during peak hours.

According to Suresh, an auto driver operating at Central for several years, the passageway leading to the car parking lot is clogged with a long line of four-wheelers during the peak hours — between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. and between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. — every day.

“The premier parking lot used to help those who had to rush in quickly to catch a train. Now, the cars often stop right in front of the station and the passengers have to quickly climb down,” he said.

Shubhika Saxena, of Adyar, describes the process of dropping off or picking up a relative ‘a harrowing experience’. “I have many relatives visiting us regularly. We have given up on finding space in the car parking lot. We just stop our car in front of the station, hurriedly say goodbye and push off,” she said.

Alok, a businessman, had a similar story to tell. A few days ago, his wife had to drop off their daughter and had to rush all the way from the street on which their car was parked. “She could not find parking in the lot inside. It was very frustrating as they had to run all the way so that my daughter did not miss her train,” he said, adding that often call taxis occupy the parking space for long hours, forcing others to park elsewhere.

According to a Railway official, hassles faced in parking are not the only problem; movement of passengers has also been rendered difficult due to CMRL work.

“It has eaten into the space at Central. The safety of passengers crossing the space outside the station or those hopping off their cars is very important. It is difficult to ensure that with Metro work taking up so much space,” the official said, admitting the area was very chaotic during peak hours.