A touch of modernity at grand old Central

In September 1900, Chennai Central was lit with gas. Today, nearly 118 years later, Central got a Metro Rail station that plans to tap solar energy from the roof.

The 145-year-old heritage structure that has been witness to hordes of passengers travelling in different directions on the Southern Railway, suburban rail and Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS), got connected to the modern underground Metro Rail, built with tunnelling machines from various parts of the world.

More entry points soon

Sprawling over 70,000 sq. m., the Central Metro Rail station is the largest underground station in the city, with six entry/exit points. But owing to a delay in completing the construction, just one entry/exit has been opened.

At present, passengers exiting the suburban rail station from the MRTS station at Park can easily enter the Metro Rail station.

The only problem is that it is difficult to reach the main Central station.

Radha Gautam, a passenger, said, “I think it will be quite a long walk from the Metro to the Central railway station. They should have connected it in such a way that it takes us to the entry point itself. Now, we have to exit the Metro station and take a subway or walk and cross the road to reach Central.”

Brick look

To match the facade of Central, the ancillary structures built on the ground and the museum of the Chennai Metro Rail that will come up soon will sport a brick-red painted look, officials said.

In the coming months, the Metro station will also have check-in counters of airlines, which will allow passengers to complete the procedures and head to the airport, they added.