CHENNAI: To give commuters easy and quick access to metro stations and help them switch to other modes of transport without much hassle, CMRL will install 36 additional escalators soon.
The project will cost 40crore. There are a total of 41 metro stations covering 54km under phase-1 and phase-1 extension.
Recently, a new escalator was installed at the Airport Metro station to connect the concourse level with the street level making it easier for passengers to walk into the subway linking the suburban station.
A metro rail official said 20 stations including Thirumangalam, Egmore, Central, Anna Nagar Tower, Alandur, Vadapalani, Nandanam, AG-DMS, Government Estate and Teynampet have been identified for installation of new escalators to link concourse levels of these stations with the street level.
“We have been receiving several complaints from commuters that there are escalators only for going up and not coming down when they want to enter or leave the stations. Particularly in stations like airport metro, passengers carry luggage. They cannot wait for elevators if there is a crowd. So, we decided to install new escalators,” the official said. At airport metro too, two more escalators will be installed by the end of this month.
The facilities are being added at a time when footfalls are steadily increasing from a daily average of 1.2 lakh pre-Covid period to nearly 1.8lakh now.
All the stations are designed for two escalators for upward and downward direction to link concourse and street levels. But they were not installed during the construction of phase-1 to save project cost, officials said.
Ten escalators lying unused in stations like CMBT, Alandur and Central metro will also be shifted to other stations.
Additional elevators are also going to be installed in stations like Koyambedu and Wimco Nagar. Commuters had also been asking for installing escalators at the street level to get quick access to the platforms of Thiruvottiyur Theradi metro. But officials said the area where the station is built is too narrow for having escalators.
