Take a subway to enter, exit DMS metro station

CHENNAI: When the metro rail’s underground line along Anna Salai opens later this year, commuters heading to DMS metro station could walk into the pedestrian subway and enter the station. Metro rail officials said one end of the pedestrian subway will serve as an entry to the station.
The subway, which is under the control of the highways department, was closed after metro rail began construction of the DMS station. The facility will be one of the few hubs built with crossovers for trains to shift tracks during emergency.

While the entry in front of DMS complex will remain, the portal on the other side of the road on Anna Salai leading to Thousand Lights will be linked to the station entry point.

“We had to close the subway because metro rail is taking one side of it for their station entry point. They will renovate the subway and hand it over to us,” said a highway department official.

DMS metro station is one of the four stations between the DMS and Saidapet underground stretch covering 3.3km on Anna Salai that is expected to open by April.

The pedestrian subway near DMS bus stop was one of the two pedestrian subways closed when metro rail began construction for the section below Anna Salai. The other subway is located close to Saidapet metro station. Both the subways under the highways department will be renovated by metro rail once station work is complete.

While pedestrian subways will give commuters access to metro stations nearby, some underground stations like Nandanam and Teynampet built close to intersections will also serve as subways for pedestrians. People who want to cross the road could walk down the staircase of the station at one end and use the non-paid area of the station to cross and exit onto the other side of the station.

With the station being readied to be opened in April, the highways department has started to renovate three pedestrian subways on the arterial road which are located close to metro rail stations near Anna Flyover, Thousand Lights and Guindy. A bus bay in front of the DMS complex is also being planned.