CHENNAI: Elected representatives and passenger activists in Tiruvallur have requested Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to develop Tiruvallur Railway Station as Chennai's fourth terminal to operate direct trains and halt all express and passenger trains there.

Over 1.5 lakh commuters utilise the Tiruvallur Railway Station daily to reach the city for their jobs or studies. However, only 11 express and superfast trains halt at the station. Passengers want the count to increase to 20.

Tiruvallur MLA VG Rajendran (DMK) suggests that the proposed terminal at Perambur can be dropped and shifted to Tiruvallur as it contributes to high traffic.

Every day, 250 EMU trains ply between Perambur and Moore Market Complex railway stations to meet the increasing footfall, and sometimes even additional trains are operated. Some stakeholders say that a new Perambur terminal will only delay reaching the Central station by 10-15 minutes, and this could be averted if Tiruvallur becomes the new terminal.

Jayapaul Raj, a Divisional Railway Users' Consultative Committee member, suggests that the empty land between Tiruvallur and Kambattur can be used for the fourth terminus as Tiruvallur is only 42 km from Chennai.

P Udhayamalar Pandiyan, Tiruvallur municipal chairman, wrote a letter to Vaishnaw to consider Tiruvallur for the fourth railway after receiving several requests from the residents to ease the commuter demand.

The fourth railway station will be of great benefit as Chennai's peripheral ring road that goes through Tiruvallur and the Multi-Modal Logistics Park (MMLP) is going to be set up near Tiruvallur in Mappedu for Rs 1,424 crore, sprawling across 184.27 acres.