Skywalk at Kilambakkam halt station yet to be completed

The new halt railway station at Kilambakkam that is being built by the Southern Railway has almost been completed and is awaiting the construction of the final skywalk, connecting the railway station with the bus terminus on the other side of the road.

All the civil works, including paving of platforms at the new railway station, which is being constructed between Vandalur and Urappakkam station, have been completed, officials said.

While the railway station could be put to use anytime soon, the integration of the skywalk from the Kilambakkam bus terminus to the railway station and the creation of an access road are the two main pending tasks.

‘CMDA’s responsibility’

It is the responsibility of the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), said M. Senthamil Selvan, Chief public Relations officer of Southern Railway. The State government had funded ₹20-crore for the railway station at Kilambakkam to enable thousands of passengers to reach the bus terminus. The railway station constructed on the Beach-Chengalpattu via Tambaram section has only three tracks, resulting in limited suburban train services.

At present the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) is operating hundreds of buses from various parts of the city to Kilambakkam bus terminus for providing last mile connectivity.

A senior official of the CMDA said the skywalk project, being executed at a cost of ₹79 crore, is undertaken in three phases, where one leg of the skywalk and the access road to the railway station has to pass through a private land.

The construction of one portion of the skywalk from the bus bay of the MTC at the Kilambakkam bus terminus over the GST Road is under progress with the girder fixed above the GST Road on the west side of the bus terminus.

Top priority

The CMDA official said that the first priority is to complete the skywalk on GST Road, which would have lifts on both sides.

In the second phase, a portion of the skywalk has to be built on a private land, before it finally lands at the railway station, linking the two platforms. He added that it is expected that all the works will be completed by February.

Passengers hope that the Southern Railway would increase train operations at least till Guduvancherry.

S. Guru Raghavendar, a daily commuter from Vandalur, said the Kilambakkam railway station would become a hub for hundreds of residents, after Tambaram. He demanded an increase in train operations as passengers throng the bus terminus round the clock. But railway officials said that only after the completion of the fourth line, more suburban trains could be operated.