Chennai Metro Rail Limited to install more ticketing gates in phase I and phase I extension stations

Chennai Metro Rail plans to install more ticketing gates to reduce waiting time and ease congestion. 11-13K passengers use stations such as Thousand Lights, Guindy, Thirumangalam and Koyambedu daily, leading to long queues. 450 gates are operational now; 10 more will be installed in 10 stations in 10 days, and 60 more in 3 months.

To reduce the waiting time for commuters and ease congestion during peak hours, Chennai Metro Rail Limited plans to install more ticketing gates at stations in the phase I and phase I extension stretches.

In the Metro’s currently functional 54-km network, stations such as Thousand Lights, Guindy, Thirumangalam and Koyambedu are used by about 11,000-13,000 passengers daily. This has led to long queues forming at the automatic fare collection gates or ticketing gates at the entries and exits on several occasions.

Balaji S., a frequent commuter who uses the Thousand Lights station, said: “One of the primary reasons we opt to travel by Metro Rail is because of the comfort, but if we are forced to stand in a queue for a while to enter and exit, it becomes tiring. The authorities need to install more gates in this station at the earliest so that we exit quickly.”

Sources said additional ticketing gates were needed particularly in stations that have a high footfall, because if even one gate stops working during peak hours, it inconveniences commuters.

According to officials of CMRL, nearly 450 ticketing gates are operational now. They have already begun the process of buying ticketing gates, which will be installed in 10 stations of the phase I and phase I extension projects based on demand.

“Within 10 days, we will put up more gates at Koyambedu and Thousand Lights stations, where crowding is frequent. In the next three months, we will purchase 60 more gates, and they will be installed after an assessment of the demand at each station is completed,” an official said.