Parking space crunch plagues Chennai Beach station

Chennai: Chennai Beach station, one of the most busiest and confluence points for three long distance routes that connects commuters to the major trade and government offices in the city, is reeling under space constraint for parking.

At present, commuters are forced to park their vehicles on the Beach road (Rajaji Salai) adjacent to Burma bazaar which is a ‘no parking’ zone. “Last week, the traffic police had seized my bike since the bike which I had parked was crossing the yellow line. I had to go to the adjacent station and wait till late evening to collect my bike paying a fine,” said Syed Shihabudeen, an IT employee, who has been parking his two-wheeler near the Beach station for the past nine months.

The only existent two-wheeler parking facility accommodating 150 two-wheelers adjacent to the railway station behind Burma bazaar was razed on  Sept, 2 and is marked as a ‘no-parking area’.It has been a tough job for traffic policemen who for the past two months manning the busy stretch on Rajaji Salai near the station as they have to confront with the commuters who park their two-wheelers on the road.

“We seize at least two to three two-wheelers on a daily basis which are parked on the road that are crossing the yellow line even after advising train commuters not to park the bikes in the no-parking zone,” said a traffic police officer on Rajaji salai. It has become a tedious job for officials warning passengers on a daily basis, he added.

The congested space near the station due to the two-wheeler parking has affected pedestrians the most as they now are either stranded near the platform or cross the busy Beach road where most government offices are located.

“At present,  the construction department of the railway has commenced the work for a new parking facility that can accommodate 150 two-wheelers. We are expecting it to be completed in a month’s time,” said R.S. Ravishankar, station manager, Beach station.

But with a footfall of over 80,000 on a daily basis, railway officials are not sure whether the current parking space that is under construction will cater to the needs of the daily passengers who are looking for a space to park their vehicles. Chennai Beach station is a starting point for trains  towards Arakkonam, Velachery and Tirumalpur and also an alighting point for commuters travel by road to Broadway, Villivakkam and towards Parry’s.  

Moreover, most passengers detrain the station to reach the high court, nationalised banks, port trust office and also primary trade centres.  On a daily basis, there are 430 trains that arrive at  Beach station.