more-in By the middle of April, Chennai Metro Rail will launch its service in Egmore, opening up a key sector for traffic via the system. Nearly one lakh commuters reportedly travel through the Egmore Railway station everyday, and the CMRL station next door will now provide them an extra option to reach Chennai airport and other destinations within the city. Once service starts, there will be trains available every five minutes during peak hours, to Chennai airport. The construction that began way back in 2011 is nearly complete and The Hindu was privy to an early look at the station. Transport hub The Egmore Metro Rail station sprawls over 8,000 sq. metres below the ground, integrating various transport modes like Southern Railway, suburban rail, bus and Metro Rail. Just like the other underground stations in the city, this too will have four entry/exit points, of which two will be located adjacent to the Egmore suburban railway station, one near the Southern Railway Construction Headquarters and the fourth on Poonamallee High Road (opposite to Daily Thanthi office). According to officials of CMRL, the entry/exit points are located in such a way that commuters using the Egmore main railway station and the suburban railway station will have to walk for only a few minutes to reach the Metro Rail station. Auto, bus bays “We are going to create a bus and an auto bay in front of the entry/exit (on Poonamallee High Road). Also, the cycle and bike parking stand is few metres away from another entry/exit (that lies close to the Egmore suburban railway station),” an official said. Though the bulk of the work is complete, there is still some more left, like installation of signages, parts of the false ceiling and some electrical works officials said. “We are in the process of installing the escalators too. All these works will be complete in a two weeks,” he added. Meanwhile, the testing of trains in the tunnel is on, and will continue till the operations begin.

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