Commuters boarding Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) trains at Velachery station are waiting eagerly for the creation of a parking lot on the southern side of the station.
The Southern Railway has been speeding up the construction work pertaining to the station’s expansion. To prevent people from walking across the railway lines, a wall on both sides of the station is also being built.
Southern Railway officials say commuters have access to the platforms only from the northern side of the railway station, as the station work is incomplete on the southern side. As of now, commuters, who are heading to the station, are required to travel on the Velachery flyover, take a ‘U’ turn to enter the service road and then reach the station, which is not just a detour, but also results in traffic chaos during the rush hour.
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The parking lot is located near the main entrance at the northern side.
After receiving feedback from residents of Madipakkam, Pallikaranai and adjoining areas who wanted access from the southern side too through Inner Ring Road, it has now been proposed to speed up the construction work.
The Southern Railway has now started paving a cement concrete road on the southern side of the station to create a parking lot to avoid the problems.
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Once the work is completed, they will float tenders calling for contractors to maintain the parking lot.
Keeping vigil on the platform
N. V. S. Murthy, from West Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh, boarded the Chennai – Kolkata Coromandel Express in the first week of April and only long after the train departed did he realise that he had left behind a suitcase on the platform at Chennai Central station.
Mr. Murthy informed the travelling ticket examiner, who in turn alerted the personnel of Railway Protection Force.
A few minutes later, he received a call from Chennai that the suitcase was located. When he returned to Chennai after a few days, the platform inspector handed over the suitcase to him. The suitcase had his passport, money and important documents. Officials said in another incident on a suburban train recently, a handbag with woman passenger’s valuables was recovered intact.
In most cases, luggage left behind by passengers on platforms would be stolen immediately by miscreants on the prowl. The Railway Police have stepped up vigilance to keep bag-lifters at bay.
(Reporting by R. Srikanth and K. Manikandan)