CHENNAI: The Metro railway station at Thirumangalam is one of the busiest place in city. Number of passengers using the station has crossed more than 10,000 on weekdays since 1 December, 2019. It is followed by Chennai Central and Airport stations, each with an average daily passengers of 9,000.
“Recently, the Chennai Metro official revised the tariff (the fare is reduced to half) on Sundays and government holidays to increase the number of passengers. It’s a good decision taken by the officials,” said Ganesh, who goes to Guindy regularly from here.
“The traffic on 100 Feet Road from Thirumangalam to Arumbakkam is increasing everyday. The construction of new bridge near CMBT has led to bottle-necks. So the passengers and motorists prefers to use Metro to avoid wasting time on road,” he added.
“If the officials decide to fix holiday fare for all days, then the number of passengers will increase manifold. Nearly, 1,00,000 passengers will make use of it,” says, Janani, a college student.
“We also request the officials to consider giving a special fare on monthly basis for school and college students. It will be helpful for them to make use of the train that connects many schools and colleges”.
“We also thank the officials for providing tokens for one time use. Previously all the passengers were forced to buy the metro card by paying a minimum amount of Rs 100. After using the money, passengers can recharge it again at ticket counter by paying money or through online,” said, Sumathi, a passenger.
According to a Chennai Metro official, Thirumangalam is located at the main junction. It serves passengers from Anna Nagar, Mugappair, Rettari, Kolathur and Ambattur areas. So the number of passengers visiting here is high. It has feeder services consisting of share autos and taxis for the last mile connectivity, and a parking lot for two wheelers and cars.
The reason for increase in the number of passengers is feeder services. Several thousand passengers utilise the share auto and share taxi services operated by Chennai Metro at Thirumangalam station. Metro Rail charges a flat fare of Rs 5 for share auto and Rs 10 for share taxi. The services are also available at Anna Nagar Tower and Anna Nagar East stations.