Work on rail underbridge chugs along at a brisk pace

This project at the Korattur railway station is expected to be completed by the end of the year

June 22, 2019 04:18 pm | Updated 04:42 pm IST

It is five years since the work on construction of railway underbridge (RUB) to replace the existing level crossing, began at the Korattur railway station. The work now seems to have been fast-tracked. One of the visible signs that the work is progressing at a brisk pace: Concrete boxes fitted on the trenches that were dug below the the rail line at the station.

The entire work, a Southern Railway official says, is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

The ₹20 crore project, being jointly executed by the Southern Railway and State Highways Department, got the nod from the State government nearly a decade ago, in 2010.

As per the plan, the track portion of the work would be carried out by the railway. The rest of the work, including land acquisition on both sides of the track and outside the railway station where service roads and the subway would be connected with the residential areas, would be undertaken by the State Highways.

The Korattur railway station, located on the Chennai Central–Arakkonam section, has four tracks with two of them being used for suburban rail network.

The existing Foot Overbridge (FOB) at the station is mainly used by train commuters to reach the platforms at the station. Motorists have no option other than to take a detour to reach many other parts of the city.

As per the plan, the two-way subway will be 800 metres long and 30 feet wide allowing buses to pass through the new facility. It will also have basic facilities including a concrete median, LED streetlights, stormwater drains, reflectors and bitumen-topped service lanes.

Boon to neighbourhood

The RUB is expected to resolve commuting issues for many road users as motorists can reach Anna Nagar in less than five minutes via Padi on the Chennai–Tiruvallur High (CTH) Road. It would also enable motorists to avoid having to use the Rettai Eri route, which is mainly used by container lorries and is accident-prone.

“Ambulances and other emergency services find it difficult to reach the two sides of the neighbourhood. Early completion of the RUB will ensure residents don’t have to taking a detour to reach neighbouring areas,” says S. Krishnan, a resident of Korattur.

Located between the railway stations at Pattaravakkam and Villivakkam, the Korattur railway station is an important public transport hub for hundreds of college students and industrial workers from the Ambattur Industrial Estate.

Every day, more than 43,000 commuters board trains from the railway station. On an average, around 260 trips are made by suburban trains on the western rail route between Chennai Central and Arakkonam, which is the last suburban railway station on the western section of Chennai.

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