Residents of Ernavur may have access to a Metro station in a few weeks as the Chennai Metro Rail Ltd. has decided to add one more station under the ₹3,770-crore phase I extension project.
At present, this stretch has nine stations, including the last one at Wimco Nagar. About half a kilometre from the station, CMRL is building a depot, which was scheduled to be ready by February last year. At this depot, CMRL has decided to have a station and call it Wimco Nagar Depot with two platforms and a concourse. Efforts are on to open it along with the Tiruvottiyur Theradi station in a few weeks.
“Like, the Tiruvottiyur Theradi station, the work is still not over in this station. It is likely to be finished in two weeks. Both the stations will be inspected together by the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety. While the Tiruvottiyur Theradi is going to be opened, it is not clear if the Wimco Nagar Depot station will be opened immediately or at a later date,” an official said.
Sources said since this station was on the depot premises, security had to be tight.“There was a proposal to have a multi-storey building for commercial development above the depot. Because of this, we decided to use two platforms and convert it as a station. But it is not clear if and when this project will take off. So, we are not sure how many passengers will use this and if it would be helpful. Only with time, we will know,” another source said.
Meanwhile, the Wimco Nagar Depot may take some more time to be completed.