Chennai: A 890-crore makeover of Tambaram railway station to transform it into a modern transit hub is taking shape with the railway land development authority (RLDA) recently holding a stakeholder meeting on key projects to be developed under the public-private partnership mode.Sources said the tenders will be floated soon, with completion scheduled in three years. The passenger handling capacity of Tambaram railway station, which is now 13,500 during peak hours, will increase to 28,750 after the makeover. The number of tracks will increase to 16 from 12 and three more platforms will be built.
Railways is already constructing a platform that passengers can access directly from the entrance to east without using foot overbridges and escalators. “The redevelopment of Tambaram is part of a broader modernization scheme, similar to Egmore. When completed, the station’s handling capacity will be bigger than Egmore, as the latter has space restrictions, while space is available in Tambaram. In future, more express trains are planned from Tambaram itself, for which the redevelopment is crucial,” said an official. Additional foot overbridges, a concourse at the first level, and new facades for both the east and west sides of the station are also part of the plan.Dayanand Krishnan, a city-based transport activist, said Tambaram handles at least 3.4crore passengers a year, and it requires more passenger amenities. “The proposed plan by RLDA focuses heavily on employees’ quarters and cargo handling capacity. But the station needs better accessibility, parking lots, and a concourse for passengers to wait. RLDA proposed an air concourse at Rani Kamlapati Railway Station (RKMP) in Bhopal, but not for Tambaram,” he pointed out.P Viswanathan, convenor of the coordination committee of Chitlapakkam residents’ welfare associations, said the vast expanse of land available at Tambaram railway station should be put to better use in the redevelopment. However, railway officials maintained that RLDA’s proposed plan is not final and that it will undergo changes with inputs from all stakeholders, including state agencies. Officials said Avadi and Coimbatore could also get similar makeovers, though there were no firm plans as yet.
