Latest news with #SingaraChennai
The Hindu
05-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Commuters irked as posters take over Chennai Metro Rail's pillars, barricades
As if the inconvenience caused by traffic diversions and congestion weren't enough, it is quite an eyesore to pass by Chennai Metro Rail Limited's pillars and barricades with posters plastered over them. The problem is not only with Metro Rail, posters are an eyesore across the city; they happen to look more prominent on the tall Metro Rail pillars. Across the city, Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has been carrying out construction work for the ₹63,246-crore Phase II Project. While some parts of the project are elevated and pillars are being built for these, construction of underground stations and tunnelling is under way for the remaining areas. All these areas are barricaded for the safety of the public. But, be it the pillars or the barricades, they have all been defaced by posters of political parties or film stars in many areas. While the government is talking about beautifying the city and floating the 'Singara Chennai' initiative, it can happen only if it addresses the poster menace, commuters said. Subramanian of Poonamallee said this was a constant issue on Arcot Road and, sometimes, the entire pillar is covered in posters. 'Decades back, the city had all kinds of posters, be it of marriages, functions, and promoting political parties but now, it is mostly political parties that are at fault. This poster culture must stop immediately,' he added. Raj Natarajan S. of Seemencheri, who frequently commutes on Rajiv Gandhi Salai, said the information technology (IT) corridor was touted as one with numerous companies and was touted as an example of growth of the city, but in several places, one could spot posters covering the barricades and pillars. 'This is not a good look for a government that is promoting the IT corridor and the 'Singara Chennai' concept. It is also an ugly sight for commuters. It is high time party heads ask their cadre not to indulge in such practices. There should also be a hefty fine for those who violate the rules,' he added. According to officials of CMRL, they have been instructing contractors to remove the posters regularly. 'Since it is continuing to occur, we will yet again reiterate the instruction and monitor the issue,' an official said. On social media too, commuters, irked by the issue, have been tagging the agency and asking them to address the issue.
The Hindu
03-05-2025
- The Hindu
Metro Rail's Poonamallee to Porur stretch will have takers only if shuttle services are operated till Vadapalani
Every day, for the last four years, M Umashankar, a 57-year-old businessman in Karayanchavadi, has been witnessing the Poonamallee-Porur corridor Chennai Metro Rail's phase II take shape gradually. 'It has been quite fascinating to watch how they are building the Karayanchavadi station, step by step and that I'm excited that I'm going to be able to travel in this corridor shortly. But people can truly benefit from Chennai Metro Rail, only when this line is extended till Vadapalani. Until this connectivity is ready, regular shuttle services should be running between Porur and Vadapalani,' he said. Chennai Metro Rail may open the 9.1 km stretch from Poonamallee to Porur (part of corridor 4-Light House to Poonamallee via T Nagar) in seven months. But residents of these areas and the neighbourhoods can gain from using this corridor only when they change lines and travel to the phase I network at Vadapalani. Earlier, the plan was to launch a significant part of corridor 4 from Poonamallee to Kodambakkam via Vadapalani but the section from Porur to Kodambakkam is running behind deadline and delayed because of the construction of a double decker corridor along this stretch. Commuters and residents said only if shuttle vehicles - buses or share autos - are operated between Porur and Vadapalani, people will come forward to use the Poonamallee-Porur line initially. Srinivasan Sridharan, a resident of Iyyapanthangal, said, there isn't a huge population which will travel just from Poonamallee till Porur. Chennai Metro Rail must schedule shuttle services according to the train timings and operate it till Vadapalani or Alandur. 'There are many from Iyyapanthangal and Poonamallee to Saidapet and Kilpauk metro stations for work. All these people will resort to using the Poonamallee-Porur corridor only if a frequent shuttle service is available. Also, more importantly, commuters should be able to use a single ticket for the entire journey such as the Singara Chennai card and it should be accepted in the shuttle service as well,' he added. According to officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), they expect that the patronage between Poonamallee to Porur will be less. 'We are trying to accelerate work between Porur to Vadapalani. Meanwhile, we are also contemplating some kind of a shuttle service up to Vadapalani till the [construction of the] second stretch (Porur to Kodambakkam) is completed,' he said.
The Hindu
22-04-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Chennai Metro Rail starts the process of changing Phase I ticketing gates
Chennai Metro Rail has finally taken the first step towards changing the ticketing gates for the phase I network and have issued tenders. This move has become essential for commuters, as minor glitches occur due to wear and tear at times and these old ticketing gates briefly stop or sometimes take more time to process the new Singara Chennai cards and other online QR code payments. In stations with high footfalls like Guindy, AG-DMS, Thousand Lights, Chennai airport and Chennai Central, commuters encounter issues at the Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) gates or ticketing gates during the peak hours. Since the launch of train services in 2015, gradually over a period of time, Chennai Metro Rail has floated ticketing options like tokens, smartcards, NCMC, WhatsApp and QR Code tickets. Commuters say they haven't faced issues while swiping smartcards, but while using the NCMC and QR Code tickets they have encountered difficulties on some occasions. R Boopalan, who swipes the new Singara Chennai card for travel in Chennai Metro Rail trains, says, when compared to the old contactless smartcards, he has felt that the new Singara cards take a little more time to recognise and open the gate on quite a few occasions. 'During lean hours, this is not a problem. But in the peak hours when people are rushing to work, the queue takes time to clear since thousands of people have switched to using the Singara Chennai card or the QR Code tickets. It is high time they upgrade the infrastructure and fix new gates,' he said. I. Yuvaraj, a working professional, opts to use the Singara Chennai card when he commutes alone and purchases group QR tickets during his travel with his family. 'There have been instances wherein the gates have stopped working for a brief period and the queue will get diverted into the other gates and congestion occurs. Then, when I use the group ticket and travel with my family, there have been a few times when the gate gets stuck. We must then reach out to the staff who will open it. I'm glad that newer ticketing gates are going to be put up and we will be rid of these issues,' he added. According to officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), they will procure a total of 1,200 ticketing gates of which nearly 500 gates will be installed in the 45 km phase I network. The gates in the 9 km phase I extension network were changed only a few years back and hence the need doesn't arise now. 'We have floated bids for the project now and if the contract is finalised in three months, then the gates will arrive later this year. Then, we plan to replace the old gates with new ones within a year,' an official said. Also, they have implemented another measure wherein they have decided to keep the gate in 'open mode' in stations with high footfall now. As a start, at Thousand Lights, the ticketing gates are open in the peak hours. 'Usually, the gates close and get locked after each swipe. But now it is always open. This has been done to ensure that the new Singara Chennai cards are processed faster and there is no queuing of passengers. But if a passenger tries to get past the gate without a ticket, the gate will lock. If this works well, it will be extended to a few other stations,' another official said. This was not implemented earlier because in case a child accidentally tries to go past the gate, the gate would get locked suddenly and he or she could get hit. 'But now, we have put up signage at Thousand Lights warning passengers and a staff has also been stationed near the gate,' he added. Sources said the old AFC gates were purchased more than a decade ago and it was only natural that issues occur. 'The technology was different when the gates were bought during the phase I network. Then when we brought in the Singara Chennai, changes were made to the gate to make them compatible with the old and the new smartcards. So, when we make such changes, some glitches are bound to happen. Hence, changing the gates as a whole and bringing in newer ones is the way forward,' a source said.
