Chennai: Passengers at Chennai Park railway station on Thursday saw workers on ladders dusting ceiling fans, spraying water on platforms and scrubbing corners ahead of the virtual inauguration of new facilities by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The upgrades, built mostly under the Amrit Station Scheme, include modern ticket counters, washrooms, lifts, CCTV cameras, platform fans, a new entrance canopy and beautification work. Officials said the work cost ₹14.79 crore.The key additions are the extension of the foot-overbridge to Madras Medical College and two lifts on the platforms. “It was a long-pending request from medical students to connect the bridge internally to the campus,” an official said. “Senior citizens and other passengers also had to climb a tall flight of stairs. The lifts will help them. These are the main works; the rest are basic upgrades and beautification.”The station is also getting around 30 CCTV cameras and around 70 fans for better ventilation. Opened on May 11, 1931, Chennai Park is part of India’s first electrified suburban rail corridor. It handles 198 suburban trains and around 29,000 passengers daily, and serves as a key interchange for suburban rail, MRTS, Metro Rail and Puratchi Thalaivar Dr M G Ramachandran Central Metro station.Commuters welcomed the changes. “The station looks much cleaner today,” said Anathi Krishnan, a govt employee who travels daily from Central to Kanchipuram. “We did not have washrooms. They have now built them on the platform.”For Abinaya T, who commutes between Kodambakkam and Vyasarpadi, the newly painted walls stood out. “Earlier, the walls were dirty. They have also worked on the platform flooring and roof,” she said. “Lifts and washrooms are essential. I hope similar improvements and safety measures are taken up at other suburban stations too.”By Thursday afternoon, the station was brightly lit and buzzing with activity. Microphones were being tested, workers were putting up new signboards and crews outside were painting the compound walls. The entrance now has a new canopy and tower, along with modern ticket counters.
