Chennai: Passengers at Central railway station to get lounge, airport-feel

CHENNAI: Passengers who board trains need not wait in staid waiting rooms as railways is planning to set up airport-like lounge facilities at MGR Chennai Central railway station.
The lounge will have comfortable seats, WiFi, restaurant and waiting area, business centre, entertainment, wash and change facility, for passengers to spend time as they wait for their trains.
Chennai Central now has only an air-conditioned waiting hall where passengers pay per hour for use and does not have adequate choice of restaurants though the station sees a footfall of more than three lakh passengers per day. There is a lounge for railway officers.
The proposed lounge for passengers will be aesthetically designed and will be a premium facility ideal for passengers who prefer to wait away from the crowded waiting halls and concourse area. “The plan is under discussion and details are yet to be finalised,” said a railway official. Railways has not decided if there should be sleeping pods like the ones opened in Mumbai. The move is part of the railways efforts to offer world class amenities at major railway stations on a par with airport terminals. Railways has been getting requests from passengers to set up such facilities. This also follows the redevelopment plans of stations into grand buildings with commercial space for restaurants and hotels.
Railways has started work to redevelop Egmore railway station by adding new station buildings, multilevel parking lots and other amenities.
IRCTC has opened an executive lounge at Delhi railway station which has a concierge service. It is available in a few other major stations like Ahmedabad, Vijayawada and Jaipur and is scheduled to be built at Howrah, Bhubaneswar, Puri, Nagpur, Patna, Bengaluru, Lucknow and a few other stations.