Chennai: Southern Railway’s work on the new halt railway station at Kilambakkam, which will provide rail connectivity to the Kilambakkam bus terminus, is expected to be ready by Oct, after the skywalk — executed by Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) — is completed. Tamil Nadu govt, through CMDA, has deposited ₹20.82 crore for the halt station.Platform 1 has been completed with a temporary booking office and a toilet block, while platforms 2 and 3 are nearing completion. Coordination with state authorities is currently under way for launching the skywalk girders and providing additional passenger amenities.Meanwhile, a delay in arriving at a solution to address the large gap between the platform and trains — caused by the sharp curve at the station — is prolonging the opening of Adambakkam MRTS station, said Chennai divisional railway manager (DRM) Shailendra Singh.The 4.5km phase 2 extension of MRTS stretch linking Velachery to St Thomas through Adambakkam and Puzhuthivakkam was opened in March this year. Yet trains do not halt at Adambakkam. “The design has not yet been finalised, and clearance from the commissioner of railway safety can be obtained after the issue is resolved,” said Singh.Addressing media on Friday, he said that 12 foot over bridges, 26 lifts and seven escalators have been constructed across stations in Chennai zone. “A new foot overbridge has been completed at Tambaram railway station, while escalator works are under way and are expected to be finished within the current financial year,” he said.He added that four railway expansion projects worth more than ₹2,100 crore have obtained railway board’s approvals and are at various stages of tendering and execution to increase train capacity and ease congestion in Chennai’s suburban network.The largest among them is the 67.79km Arakkonam–Chengalpet doubling project, expected to cost ₹926.52 crore. The section currently handles 13 trains, but officials said the capacity could increase to nearly 80 after the second line is commissioned. The project is also expected to improve rail connectivity to industrial clusters such as Sriperumbudur, Oragadam and Mahindra World City.Another project is the Tambaram–Chengalpet fourth-line project, costing about ₹713.5 crore, which is set to be completed by 2030. Though tendering process is yet to begin, railway officials said this would ease congestion on the southern corridor, where around 500 EMU services currently operate every day.“Tenders have been invited for the Attipattu–Gummidipoondi third- and fourth-line project at ₹365.42 crore and the Perambur–Ambattur fifth and sixth railway lines — a 9km project of about ₹177 crore,” said Singh.Presenting the division’s performance for 2025-26, he said Southern Railway carried 47.298 crore passengers, compared with 42.5 crore the previous financial year. To meet the growing demand, the zone operated 3,559 special trains and attached 1,557 additional coaches to regular services.Several safety and passenger-service measures were introduced too — closing 12 manned level crossings, installing 300km of fencing along railway tracks, commissioning seven electronic interlocking systems, installing 18 lifting barriers and renewing 186 track kilometres.
