Metro Rail’s Phase II stations plagued by minor leakages

Nearly a decade ago, rains exposed leakages at some of the newly opened Chennai Metro Rail stations on the Phase I network. The same problem persists today at some of the new Phase II stations along the 14.6-km Poonamallee-Vadapalani stretch.

During the intermittent showers on Wednesday, stations such as Poonamallee Bypass, Thelliyaragam, Iyyapanthangal, Vadapalani, and Porur Bypass faced minor leakages, sources said.

In stations such as Iyyapanthangal and Thelliyaragaram, buckets were kept to collect the rainwater dripping from the roof, and signboards warning passengers of wet floor were placed.

“Minor leakages were reported in passenger footfall areas such as the walkalator, staircase, and the ticketing areas, too. Less than a week since launch, we are already seeing such leakages. Even though they are minor, such issues should not emerge in a project for which thousands of crores have been spent,” a source said.

The authorities should have thoroughly checked all the areas for such leakages and plugged them before opening the stretch to the public, sources said.

“Nearly 10 years have passed [since the Metro work began]. Yet, it is sad that the same issues persist in our stations and that a lasting solution has not been found,” another source said.

According to officials of the Chennai Metro Rail Limited, they have already begun attending to the issue. “The leakages are minor and will be resolved in a day,” an official said.

Information display

Additionally, the Passenger Information Display System, which displays real-time information of train arrival, either lags or does not show the time in stations such as Porur Bypass and Porur Junction.

While the timings of the trains heading to Vadapalani were displayed in both the stations, those of the trains bound for Poonamallee Bypass were not shown.