CHENNAI: The Southern Railway (SR) has taken up the redevelopment of the arterial Egmore Railway Station.

The project received a tender award in October 2022, and construction is undergoing at an estimated cost of Rs 734.91 crore.

As part of restoration work a temporary ticket counter will be opened shortly in the exit side of the Egmore station, in the EVK Sampath road, said Southern Railway sources.

The ticket counter will serve until the redevelopment work is scheduled for completion by 2025, he added.

The station has a huge number of footfall as one among the four terminus in the city. So the number of people waiting in the queue is also huge, especially during the peak hours.

The station already has two unreserved counters and three reserved counters but still spotting a serpentine queue is something common.

Amidst the restoration work passengers also demand better amenities. "There are no facilities to sit or to take rest near the ticket counter. It would be helpful for us with amputation issues near the ticket counter," says Murugan, a disabled person.

Also many aged and illiterate people are unaware about using the UTS app or the ATVM machines in the stations, so they mainly depend on the ticket counters for the easy accessibility and the railways should ensure more ticket counters, he added.