29 feet under, a different city

Two years hence, while the bustle will remain, the landscape of this area will be transformed from its current chaos to a structured and well-made Central Square of Chennai Metro Rail.

As you rush to catch your train, or take a bus from near the Chennai Central station, have you wondered what goes on 29 feet under? It’s currently off limits, but if you were able to take a peek, as The Hindu did on Friday, then you’d see an industrious army beneath the hubbub, alongside massive excavators, drilling a hole through the heart, as it were, of the city.

Two years hence, while the bustle will remain, we are told that the landscape of this area will be transformed from its current chaos to a structured and well-made Central Square of Chennai Metro Rail with several forms of transport seamlessly integrating here.

As the Chennai Central Metro Rail station that sprawls over 70,000 sq. m. nears structural completion, it is clear in parts that it has the potential to be the largest integrated transport hub in the city.

Across the Chennai Central station, a small opening with a caged staircase leads down to three layers of massive corridors of the Metro Rail station — the first is the concourse level for buying tickets, the second is the line that commuters can use to go from Chennai Central all the way up to Thirumangalam; and the third, from Washermenpet up to Chennai airport through Anna Salai.

“The Chennai Central Metro Rail station serves as a converging junction for these two corridors. It may be fully complete only by the end of 2017 or early 2018; but currently, the structural work is nearly complete. Next, we will focus on plastering, mechanical and plumbing work and lastly, electrical and signalling work will be taken up,” a CMRL official says. About 600 to 1,000 employees work round the clock to build this colossal structure that costs about Rs. 450 crore.

Five hese subways will link Metro Rail station, Park station, Park Town station, Chennai Central and Ripon Buildings. Unlike the other Metro Rail stations across the city, the work does not end with the station alone. A huge Central Square has been planned at a cost of Rs. 400 crore to bring in various facilities, like a shopping mall and an airport check-in facility. Also, the Ramasamy Mudaliar Choultry may be turn into a Metro museum in the near future. Soon, the struggle that commuters face near this stretch with nearly no road space or bus shelters will be a thing of the past, as several bus bays will be created right outside the Metro Rail station.