CMRL mulls steps to ease out peak hour congestion in Chennai Metro
Siddhique’s assurance came on Thursday morning after a technical snag at the Guindy Metro station stalled services on the blue line between Wimco Nagar and Airport via AGDMS and Nandanam, leading to congestion on the streets.
CMRL director M A Siddhique noted that the CMRL is taking all measures possible to ensure there is no congestion at the stations. (Representational Photo) The Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), which registers an average daily ridership of about 3 lakh people, is planning to up its ante by taking measures to reduce congestion during peak hours and to add facilities for the ease of travel, said CMRL director M A Siddhique.
Siddhique’s assurance came on Thursday morning after a technical snag at the Guindy Metro station stalled services on the blue line between Wimco Nagar and Airport via AGDMS and Nandanam, leading to congestion on the streets.
Many commuters had to wait for a long time to avail of alternative transportation to reach their destinations. As per the Metro officials, the incident was unexpected and they have taken measures to resolve the issues immediately.
Later, the CMRL issued a statement wherein they claimed the services were restored. “Metro Train services have resumed between Wimco Nagar Depot and Airport on the Blue Line. The technical issue has been resolved between Little Mount and the Airport. Metro Train services on Green Line are operating as per schedule. Passengers are requested to plan their journey accordingly. CMRL deeply regrets the inconvenience caused.”
Metro Train services have been resumed between Wimco Nagar Depot to Airport in the Blue Line.
The technical issue has been resolved between Little Mount and Airport.
Metro Train services in Green Line is operating as per schedule.
Passengers are requested to plan their journey…
— Chennai Metro Rail (@cmrlofficial) August 31, 2023
Speaking to indianexpress.com, Siddhique, “Today’s incident is quite unfortunate. This was the first time we faced such an issue but it has prepared us for similar incidents in the future.”
He noted that the CMRL is taking all measures possible to ensure there is no congestion at the stations.
Earlier this month, the CMRL issued data wherein it noted that the Chennai Metro ridership has increased significantly to 82.5 lakh in July from 74.06 lakh in June.
“The peak-hour traffic has been good but it has not achieved its full potential. To manage the crowd, we had submitted proposals to procure new rolling stocks for phase-I. However, it will take a minimum of 1.5 to two years for it to be operational,” he added.
The CMRL director also said that they are making efforts to explore additional sources of income as well and as a step towards that, the CMRL has given a go ahead for advertisements to be displayed on the pillars of its elevated stretches.
“We have floated bids and are in the process of selecting advertising agencies to generate non-fare revenues. This will be done in 10 packages and such a process is happening for the first time. Except for the Alandur-Airport stretch, which is under a legal tussle, this will be implemented in the rest of the elevated stretches in the city,” he said, adding that there will be certain guidelines on what kind of advertisements can be displayed on these pillars.
It is to be noted that the state government earlier this August had approved the plan to buy 28 six-coach trains to cater to future passenger demand.
“After assessing the additional rolling stock requirement for Chennai Metro Rail’s Phase-1 Network Operations to cater to the future passenger demand in 2028, it has been decided to procure 28 additional rakes of six-coach trains at an estimated cost of Rs 2,820.9 crore. This shall be done with funding from multilateral agencies,” a statement from the Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Department of the state government read.
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