Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Thursday, Apr 17, 2003
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Thursday, Apr 17, 2003 |
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Logistics
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Railways Nitish lays foundation for Central-Egmore rail link Our Bureau
(From left) Mr A.K. Moorthy, Union Minister of State for Railways, Mr Nitish Kumar, Union Minister of Railways, Mr T.R. Baalu, Union Minister for Environment and Forests, and Mr Bandaru Dattatraya, Minister of State for Railways, at the foundation stone laying function for a railway link between Central and Egmore stations in Chennai on Wednesday.
CHENNAI, April 16 THE Railway Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar, today laid the foundation stone for a link between the Central and Egmore railway stations in Chennai, a link which he said was a long-felt one in the city. At present, there is no direct railway connection between the two main stations in the city and passengers on long-distance trains or commuters in the suburban EMU services have to use the road to move between the two stations. The Rs 93-crore project would be completed within two years and the link ready during calendar year 2005, Mr Nitish Kumar said. Responding to an appeal made earlier by Mr T.R. Baalu, Union Environment and Forests Minister, on establishing a railway link between Chennai and Mahabalipuram, the Railway Minister said that the Railway Board had initiated steps on this and an announcement could be made only after the formalities were completed. Mr Baalu made a forceful plea for establishing the link and even said that he and Mr A.K. Moorthy, Minister of State for Railways, would be prepared to give a contribution of Rs 1 crore (from the MP's constituency development fund) as seed capital for the project. Mr Baalu pointed out that the distance of 35 km between Chennai and the tourist centre of Mahabaliuram fell in his South Chennai constituency and Mr Moorthy's constituency of Chingleput. According to the Southern Railway, the Central-Egmore link will come up on an elevated structure and have double line broad gauge tracks with electrified traction. The tracks will cross all the three suburban lines between Chennai Park and Chennai Fort stations. Thereafter, the tracks will cross the arterial Poonamallee High Road and culminate in two elevated platforms at the Central. The Egmore station links Chennai with the southern parts of the State as also places in the North now that it has broad gauge lines. It is also a major station on the metre gauge suburban corridor between Chennai Beach and Tambaram. The Egmore station handles about 50,000 passengers a day. The Central, on the other hand, is the main station handling long-distance trains to most of the other States. Besides, the Moore Market suburban station is located nearby. The Central station handles about 1.75 lakh passengers daily. According to the Southern Railway, there is constant movement of passengers between the Egmore and Central stations, all of who now have to depend on road transport. The proposed railway link will make it easier for them to move between the two stations. A multi-media passenger grievance redress kiosk and an automatic platform ticket vending machine were also inaugurated at the Central station on the occasion.
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