Kilambakkam Halt Railway Station Expected to Be Completed by October

The new halt railway station being constructed by Southern Railway in Kilambakkam is expected to be completed by October this year, following steady progress on station infrastructure and the resolution of hurdles surrounding an adjoining skywalk project.

Speaking at a press meet, Shailendra Singh, Divisional Railway Manager of the Chennai division, stated that the State government had deposited ₹20.82 crore for the construction of the new halt station. He confirmed that the construction of platform number 1 has been completed, while civil work on platform numbers 2 and 3 is nearing completion. Construction of a temporary booking office and a toilet block has also been completed.

The overall project had faced delays linked to the skywalk project, which is being executed by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) to connect the Kilambakkam bus terminus with the railway station. To progress with the skywalk, the CMDA required formal permission from Southern Railway to place a girder across the railway tracks.

While Southern Railway typically handles execution over its portion of land for road underbridges or overbridges, the CMDA was given full charge of the skywalk project for seamless execution. However, work on the railway premises was held up due to demands made by Southern Railway for way leave charges to enter the property.

The issue was resolved during a meeting organised between officials of the Chennai railway division, the CMDA, and the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA). S.N. Narain, Chief Public Relations Officer of Southern Railway, said that Southern Railway had accepted in principle the request to waive the way leave charges. A memorandum of understanding is set to be signed by the State government to grant formal permission to fix the girder.

A senior official from the CMDA confirmed that the authority had received the communication regarding the waiver of way leave charges and noted that a decision on signing the memorandum of understanding would be taken soon.