Tambaram station's lift, escalator works will be completed by December

CHENNAI: Southern Railway has set November and December deadlines for commissioning nine additional lifts and 10 escalators at Tambaram railway station, with several lifts awaiting statutory inspections and approach pathways even as installation of escalators continues.

Of the nine lifts being installed, seven have been completed, but not all are ready for passenger use. Two lifts at the western entry have obtained the necessary licence certificate, but work on their approach pathways is still under way. Five others - one each at Platforms 1 and 2, Platforms 3 and 4, and Platforms 9 and 10, and two at the eastern entry are awaiting statutory inspection and licensing. These lifts are expected to open shortly, according to a Southern Railway.

Installation of the remaining two lifts, connecting Platforms 5 and 6 and Platforms 7 and 8, is under way, with commissioning targeted by the end of November. Work on the 10 escalators for the new foot overbridge (FOB) is also progressing.

Once all the works are commissioned, Tambaram station will have 10 lifts and 16 escalators, including existing facilities, Southern Railway said.

The works come amid growing passenger traffic at Tambaram, which has overtaken Chennai Central in originating passenger numbers among Chennai's three major terminals. However, the station's larger redevelopment under the Amrit Bharat Station scheme is yet to begin apart from piece meal development.

The new FOB and its surrounding access infrastructure have also drawn concerns over passenger circulation due to incomplete circulating areas and inadequate access from the street.