A Visit to Perungudi Railway Station
While participating in the Platinum Jubilee Celebrations of the Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) Car Shed at Tambaram in December 2006, Minister of State for Railways R. Velu said the MRTS services till Velachery were to be extended by the year-end, but the heavy rain delayed the work in a small part of the track, though installation of the girders was complete and it was expected to be completed by March-end.
March 07 has come and gone. The Minister of State for Railways has now given another deadline.
After inspecting work on the MRTS stretch between Taramani and Velachery, on April 17, 2007, the Minister announced that the work on the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) up to Velachery will be completed by May 15, 2007 and Railways Safety Commissioner is asked to carry out inspection after May 15.
This morning I visited Perungudi Station. Civil work in the station platform is fully completed. The approach road from the Velachery side is being laid. A mud road exists from the Perungudi side to reach the station. Some of the images posted here will show the stage of completion. Perungudi station appears to be complete compared to some of the stations in the Tirumayilai – Thiruvanmiyur stretch. The constructed area of Perungudi station is 193,680 sq feet according to CMDA website.
One of the worker in the station gave his opinion that the trains will ply between Velachery and Thiruvanmiyur in another month or so. One worker was cooking his lunch in between the tracks.
Though some workers were working in the station laying cement slabs at one edge of the platform and some others were filling stones in between the rails, I could not see any Railway Officials in the station.
Velachery Railway Station as seen from Perungudi Railway Station
It is yet unclear about the date on which MRTS will become operational in the Tiruvanmiyur – Velachery stretch.
Anyway May 15, 2007 is not far off for the Railway Safety Commissioner to carryout inspection.
When do you think the st thomas mount stretch will be laid?
The distance between Velachery to St Thomas Mount is about 5 kms.There will be 2 stations in between Velachery and St Thomas Mount. The cost of the extension is estimated to be Rs 495 crores, out of which two thirds will be borne by the State Government and the balance by the Railways. According to a news report in The Hindu, there is no need to acquire land for a major stretch of the project as the track will run along the middle of the road. There is a 400-metre stretch ahead of St. Thomas Mount where buildings stand in the way. No time frame is available for completion of this project. Looking at the past experience I guess it may take about 3 years to complete
Take a look at this… this is the ultimate plan for the MRTS. il be gray and old by the time i see this on the ground. What say GVB?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:MRTS_proposed_map.jpg
I came across this blog while searching for something else, but iam glad that i bumped into it. It’s great to see Chennaites discussing issues that are pertinent to the community. It’s heartening to see that people who care are all around us……………keep up the good work….
Why is this station called as Taramani II and not perungudi.
The link provided by sachin calls the station as Taramani II, whereas various sources in the net call the station as perungudi. When the station starts functioning only we will know whether it is perungudi or taramani