More office goers ride the Metro on the Washermenpet-Alandur stretch as the line connects Thousand Lights, AG-DMS, Nandanam, Guindy and LIC. | Photo Credit: M. VEDHAN
Chennai Metro Rail Ltd. (CMRL) has changed the frequency of trains in both corridors – Wimco Nagar to Airport and Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. MG Ramachandran Chennai Central to St. Thomas Mount. With this, there will be a train every three minutes on the Washermenpet-Alandur route during peak hours (8am to 11am and 5pm to 8pm).
A train will run every six minutes on the Wimco Nagar-Airport route during peak hours. Direct trains between Central and St. Thomas Mount and Central and Airport will be available every 12 minutes during peak hours.
Before the new arrangement, commuters could get a train every five minutes between Wimco Nagar and the airport and every 10 minutes between Central and St. Thomas Mount and Central and the airport.
According to CMRL officials, it has been decided to run a train every three minutes between Washermenpet and Alandur because a large number of passengers travel daily on this stretch connecting Thousand Lights, AG-DMS, Nandanam, Guindy and LIC. “There are many offices along Anna Salai. When we looked at the passenger flow from the data, we noticed that thousands of office goers are traveling to the stations between Washermenpet and Alandur and the demand is very high. So we have decided to have a train every three minutes on this stretch,” the official said.
During off-peak hours (5 AM to 8 AM, 11 AM to 5 PM and 8 PM to 10 PM), riders will get a train every nine minutes between Wimco Nagar and the airport. Direct trains between the center and St. Thomas Mount and the center and airport will be serviced every 18 minutes during non-peak hours.
“We are doing this on a trial basis, due to increased passenger demand. We have to see how systems like signalling, telecom and others work in the next few weeks with the increase in frequency,” another official said.
The Chennai Metro handled an average of nearly 2.50 lakh passengers during the week, with commuters demanding more trains.