Chennai Central Metro, officially known as Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central metro station, is an underground metro station on the North-South Corridor of the Blue Line and Green Line of Chennai Metro in Chennai, India.[2][3] Central metro station is spread over an area of 30,000 square metres (320,000 sq ft).[2] On 31 July 2020, It has been named by Government of Tamil Nadu as Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Metro to honor the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam founder and the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. G. Ramachandran.[4]
The station
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The station is an underground, two-level station[5] on Poonamallee High Road in front of the Chennai Central railway station and the Ripon Building. The station is one of the two metro stations where Corridor I (Airport–Wimco Nagar) of the project will intersect with Corridor II (Chennai Central Metro–St Thomas Mount via Egmore and CMBT Metro), the other being the Alandur metro station. The metro station, being constructed at a depth of 28 m (92 ft), will be the largest of all metro stations in the city with an area of over 30,000 m2 (320,000 sq ft).[2] The three-level metro station will cover a length of 410 metres and will have a width of 35 metres.[3] Unlike the other metro stations which have four entry points, the Chennai Central Railway Station will have six entry/exit points for access to Park suburban and Park Town MRTS stations, Ripon Building, Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, and Chennai Central railway station.[6][7] The station will act as a transit point for passengers from the Chennai Central railway station, Park Town, and Park railway stations.[8] It is estimated that more than 100,000 commuters will use the station daily.[9]
The station is one of the few in the corridor that will have parking facilities.[10] Space will be allocated for parking in a basement area for about 500 cars and 1,000 two-wheelers. There are also plans to have the airport check-in facility in one of the basement levels at the station, which will allow air passengers to complete the check-in procedures at the station itself.[11] A bus bay has also been planned opposite the station.[12]
The station is one of the three stations in the Chennai Metro Rail network that will have 230-kV receiving sub-stations for power supply from the state's electricity grid. The other two are Koyambedu and Arignar Anna Alandur Metro.[13]
The station was opened on 25 May 2018.[3] As of December 2019, the station had a daily footfall of about 9,500 passengers,[1] up from about 7,700 in February 2019,[14] making it the second busiest metro station in the city after Thirumangalam.
Station layout
editChennai Central track layout | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Station with two tracks and one Island platform
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Chennai Central track layout | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Station with four tracks and two Island platforms
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| G | Street Level | Exit / Entrance |
| M | Mezzanine | Fare control, station agent |
| B1 | Platform 1 Westbound |
Towards ← St. Thomas Mount & Chennai International Airport Next Station: Chennai Egmore |
Island platform | Doors will open on the right 
| ||
| Platform 2 Eastbound |
Towards ← St. Thomas Mount & Chennai International Airport Next Station: Chennai Egmore | |
| B2 | Platform 3 Westbound |
Towards ← St. Thomas Mount Next Station: Chennai Egmore |
| Island platform | Doors will open on the right
| ||
| Platform 4 Eastbound |
Towards ← St. Thomas Mount Next Station: Chennai Egmore | |
| B3 | Platform 5 Southbound |
Towards → Chennai International Airport Next Station: Government Estate (to be further extended to Kilambakkam in the future) |
| Island platform | Doors will open on the right
| ||
| Platform 6 Northbound |
Towards ← Wimco Nagar Depot Next Station: High Court | |
Landscape
editThe Chennai Corporation has plans to develop a park over the Chennai Central Metro. Chennai Metro Rail Limited has agreed to a proposal by the Chennai Corporation of extending the Ripon Buildings Park over the Chennai Central underground metro station. Waterproof structures will be created over the station to facilitate the creation of the park. A portion of the park, which will cover more than six acres of the premises of Ripon Buildings and Victoria Public Hall, will be developed on a waterproof concrete slab area, measuring 210 metres by 10 metres. Visitors to the Ripon Buildings Park, Amma Maaligai and Victoria Public Hall will have access to the Chennai Central Metro through some of its seven entry points.[3]
See also
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References
edit- ^ a b Sekar, Sunitha (25 December 2019). "After a slow start, Metro sees steady uptick in ridership". The Hindu. Chennai: Kasturi & Sons. p. 4. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
- ^ a b c "After snatching case, CMRL to install more cameras in stations". The Times of India. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
- ^ a b c d Xavier Lopez, Aloysius (14 September 2014). "Civic body plans spot of greenery over Metro station". The Hindu. Chennai. Retrieved 2 October 2014..
- ^ "Tamil Nadu government to rename three metro rail stations in Chennai after late Chief Ministers". The New Indian Express. 31 July 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ "Entry to Ripon Buildings from P.H. Road opens up". The Hindu. Chennai. 4 February 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
- ^ Sekar, Sunitha (11 December 2013). "When Chennai Central becomes the city's transport hub". The Hindu. Chennai. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
- ^ Sekar, Sunitha (12 July 2018). "New entry point for Central Metro opens". The Hindu. Chennai. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
- ^ "Metro rail seals fate of shops near Central". The Hindu. Chennai. 22 July 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
- ^ Ayyapan, V; Christin Mathew Philip (30 August 2011). "Chennai Central, the hulk among Metro stations". The Times of India. Chennai. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
- ^ "Single train trip to equal 16 buses, 300 cars and 600 bikes". The Hindu. Chennai. 29 August 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
- ^ Sekar, Sunitha (20 December 2013). "Parking lot for Chennai Metro station to come up under land". The Hindu. Chennai. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
- ^ Ayyappan, V. (8 August 2014). "At 40m, Ashok Nagar to be highest metro station". The Times of India. Chennai: The Times Group. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ^ "Metro rail sets up units to power trains, stations to meet year-end deadline to start services". The Times of India. Chennai. 15 April 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
- ^ Sekar, Sunitha (21 February 2019). "Metro users jump to 90,000". The Hindu. Retrieved 1 March 2019.