Velachery railway station

The Velachery MRTS Station is a ground level station on the Chennai MRTS railway line in Chennai. It is located near the junction of Velachery Main Road and Inner Ring Road in Velachery. The station is built on the northern banks of Pallikaranai wetland.

Velachery
Chennai MRTS station
Velachery MRTS station
General information
Coordinates	12°58′03″N 80°13′08″E
Platforms	Side platform Platform-1 → Train Terminates Here ** Platform-2 → Chennai Beach ** (Further extenstion to St. Thomas Mount in the near future) Island platform Platform-2 → Train Terminates Here ** Platform-3 → Chennai Beach ** (Further extenstion to St. Thomas Mount in the near future) Side platform Platform-3 → Chennai Beach Platform-4 → Chennai Beach (280 m)
Tracks	3
Construction
Structure type	At grade
Platform levels	1
Parking	Yes
Other information
Station code	VLCY
History
Opened	19 November 2007
Passengers
2009–10	50,000/day
Services
Preceding station Chennai MRTS Following station Perungudi towards Chennai Beach Line 1 Terminus Line 1 (Future Service) Puzhuthivakkam towards St. Thomas Mount
Location

History

The station was opened on 19 November 2007. The EMU maintenance shed at the station was opened in 2008.

Structure

The length of the platform is 280 m.^[1] The station premises also consists of 12,250 sq m of open parking area.^[2]

Station layout

Velacherry track layout
Legend
to Perungudi P1 P2 to Train Terminates Here **
to Train Terminates Here ** P2 P3 to Perungudi
Station with three tracks | One Side & Island platform ** Further Extension to St. Thomas Mount

G	Street Level & Mezzanine	Exit/ Entrance, Fare control, Station ticket counters and Automatic ticket vending machines
P	Side platform | Doors will open on the left
	Platform 1 Eastbound	Towards → Chennai Beach Next Station: Perungudi
	Platform 2 Westbound	Towards ← Train Terminates Here (to be further extended to St. Thomas Mount railway station in the near future)
	Island platform | P2 Doors will open on the left | P3 Doors will open on the right
	Platform 3 Eastbound	Towards → Chennai Beach Next Station: Perungudi
	Side platform | Doors will open on the right
P

EMU shed

The station has a massive shed for preventive maintenance of electrical multiple unit (EMU) rakes, which is spread over 44 hectares.^[3] Before the opening of the shed in 2008, maintenance of the all MRTS rakes were being sent to Avadi.^[4] However, the shed has been lying in disuse for the past few years. Due to this, there are currently no mid-night services between Chennai Beach station and Velachery.^[3]

Additional infrastructure

A bus bay in front of the station, set to become the biggest in south Chennai, is under construction at a cost of ₹ 100 million, jointly executed by the Southern Railway and the state government. To be built in about 60,000 sq m of land, the depot will be owned by the state government.^[5]

A 3.4 km-long, 18 m-wide access road to Perungudi station and Taramani station is being constructed along the MRTS line from Velachery to Taramani.^[6]

Patronage

The station primarily serves the residential community of Velachery and its neighbouring suburbs such as Madipakkam, Ullagaram-Puzhuthivakkam, Adambakkam and Pallikaranai.^[7] The Velachery station receives the highest patronage among all the MRTS stations.^[8]

Developments

In September 2013, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) invited tenders for setting up a food plaza in the station, along with two other stations, namely, Thirumayilai and Thiruvanmiyur.^[9]

See also

• Chennai MRTS
• Chennai suburban railway
• Chennai Metro
• Transport in Chennai

References

1. "MRTS Phase-II Extension". Development of MRTS in Chennai. CMDA. Archived from the original on 15 August 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
2. R.Ramanathan. "Presentation on MRTS & Rail facilities in and around Chennai" (PDF). Traffic Transportation and Parking – Session 2. CMDA, Chennai. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
3. Oppili, P.; Vivek Narayanan (12 November 2013). "EMU shed lies unused in Velachery". The Hindu. Chennai. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
4. "New MRTS station coming up". The Hindu. Chennai. 11 July 2008. Archived from the original on 13 July 2008. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
5. Mariappan, Julie (16 June 2011). "Work begins on 15-acre bus bay". The Times of India. Chennai. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
6. "3.4-km-long road to connect MRTS stations in Chennai". The Hindu. 15 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
7. "Link road suffers from encroachment". The Hindu. 5 August 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
8. Ajai Sreevatsan (15 November 2009). "Poor patronage at some MRTS stations". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 20 November 2009. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
9. Narayanan, Vivek (28 September 2013). "Missed a meal? Grab a bite at MRTS station in Chennai". The Hindu. Chennai. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2014.