Pedestrian subway at Veppampattu Stn

Vishnu Sharmaa, INN/Chennai, @Svs037

Passengers deboarding trains at Veppampattu railway station have a happy news. Pedestrian subway work has been taken up at the station by Southern Railway, now travellers will have a safe way to come into the station and exit it. 

Veppampattu station falls in the route of Chennai – Arakkonam and has four lines, three platforms and has no foot-over-bridge or subway. Keeping in view the conveinience of passengers the work was taken up. Chennai division of Southern Railway took up the work. 

Sources say, erection of 17 precast Reinforced Concrete Cement (RCC) boxes in the size of 5mts x 2.75mts on fast lines has been successfully completed. The boxes were installed at km 32/9-11 for the pedestrian subway. 

Sources further say, the work was taken up on a quick pace despite space constraints at the site owing to dense population near the area. 

The work area available for leveraging the machines was limited and machines could not operate without infringing the remaining track portion and working was possible from only one direction. 

The work has been planned and taken up in a mega block spread over two weekends from Saturday night till Sunday morning (two lines on each weekend block) to minimise the repercussion to train services, thus ensuring that there is least disruption to regular train services.  

Sources from Southern Railway further say that first portion beneath the slow lines (up and down) of eight RCC precast box segments have been completed by the division within the sanctioned block time on 18 and 19 May, and the second portion beneath the fast lines (up and down) of nine RCC precast box segments have been completed within the sanctioned 12 hours line and power block from May 25 night to May 26 morning.

Total 17 box segments underneath the tracks have been completed during the mega block. The planning and coordination of various departments like engineering, traction, signal and telecommunication, operating and RPF made the completion of this work within the stipulated time, possible. 

In the coming days some more ancillary works will be done to fully complete this subway which is being constructed for the use of passengers crossing the tracks at Veppampattu Station. Hence tresspassing by the public will be prevented on completion of this work.

Also, utilising this block period, vital track maintenance works and other developmental works were carried out in the section, 5.9 kms track has been packed in the section using the track tie tamping machine and other track maintenance works like through rail renewal for points and crossing including track welding work has been done in the section.

And, earth work for extension of platform/provision of platform at Tiruninravur railway station was done during the block period, say Southern Railway sources.