CHENNAI: The Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has begun installing escalators and elevators on the 9-km Poonamallee-Porur stretch, as part of the Phase II Project.

According to a The Hindu report, the CMRL officials said that the installation process is in progress and will be completed by September. Following this, the metro rail authorities have acquired 40 elevators that were manufactured in Chennai and 60 escalators that have been imported from China.

Officials said that the Porur Bypass Metro station would be the first station to have the new escalators and currently the elevator installation is in progress. Subsequently, the Kattupakkam Metro and Thelliaragaram Metro would get the upgrade next.

While many passengers complained that there were not enough escalators in the stretch covered in the Phase I Project, CMRL plans to fix the issue in the next phase.

As part of this, the Poonamallee-Porur stretch will have elevators installed at all locations, ensuring ease of access to commuters. The CMRL authorities also noted that due to space constraint, some stations may not have escalators for descending but said that they have ensured to take efforts so that persons with disabilities can navigate easily.