Now Reading: Southern Railway installs lifts at five British-era stations
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Southern Railway installs lifts at five British-era stations
The Southern Railway has completed installation of lifts with new steel foot over bridges at five British-era stations: Vellore Cantonment, Tiruvannamalai, Arakkonam, Ambur and Vaniyambadi. The work is part of the Station…
The Southern Railway has completed installation of lifts with new steel foot over bridges at five British-era stations: Vellore Cantonment, Tiruvannamalai, Arakkonam, Ambur and Vaniyambadi. The work is part of the Station Redevelopment Project on the Chennai-Bengaluru and Villupuram-Tirupati routes. Each bridge, costing an average of Rs 1.5 crore including lifts, has shelters with lights and CCTV cameras, and ramps for persons with disabilities.
Each lift can accommodate at least 10 people. Officials said lifts are cost-effective, occupy less space and consume less electricity than escalators. The stations together handle over 150 trains daily, mostly express and passenger services, with more than 3,000 commuters boarding daily at each. The lifts are expected to be operational in the coming weeks.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The stations upgraded lie on a high-traffic corridor that sees both suburban and long-distance trains, making accessibility a long-standing demand from elderly and women passengers. Under the Station Redevelopment Project, Indian Railways aims to modernise stations through public-private partnership or government funding, though deadlines for many stations have slipped. The investment of roughly Rs 7.5 crore across five stations is modest compared to major redevelopment projects like those at New Delhi or Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, but it addresses a specific safety gap at smaller junction stations. The next milestone will be the formal inauguration and regular power backup arrangements for the lifts, which commuters have flagged as a concern.
Indian Railways' Station Redevelopment Project, launched in 2009, seeks to upgrade amenities and commercial potential of stations nationwide.
Source: thehindu.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
