Demanding that the Royapuram railway station be converted into the third rail terminal in the city, a group of north Chennai residents said immediate measures must be taken to address the wide divide in availability of transportation facilities between north and south Chennai.
“It is regrettable that the Royapuram station does not have a foot over-bridge since its inception,” said S. Jayachandran, convenor, North Chennai Peoples’ Rights Federation. “It has heritage value as it is the first station to come up in south India and is 153 years old,” he told reporters here on Saturday.
Pointing out that a recent proposal to convert Tambaram into the third rail terminal in the city would mean a huge amount of travel for north Chennai residents, he said the 26 acres of Railway land available near the Royapuram station must be used to set up a terminal.
“All the trains would have to pass through Tambaram anyway. Royapuram can be used as a station for trains going towards north India as well as south Tamil Nadu because of its connectivity to Central and Egmore stations,” Dr. Jayachandran said.
He added that congestion can be greatly reduced in Egmore if another terminal comes up. “Other cities like Mumbai have five railway terminals. Since Chennai is growing fast, Southern Railway must seriously consider setting up a terminal in Royapuram.”
