Chennai: ICF's rail museum to stay open late during weekends

Chennai: Integral Coach Factory’s (ICF) rail museum that has been augmented with a state-of-art amphitheatre and museum shop will be open till late night on weekends to provide visitors with a ‘longer stay’. The amphitheatre and museum shop was thrown open on Saturday. Constructed at a cost of nearly Rs 17 lakh, the new amphitheatre will encourage budding artistes to book the amphitheatre and show their mettle. The amphitheatre can accommodate about 100 persons and anybody can book the amphitheatre to conduct cultural events, Arun Devraj, curator, Chennai Rail Museum, said.

The rail museum, which is open from 10 am to 6 pm every day, has been a centre of attraction in Perambur. With more visitors on weekends, the management has decided to extend the closing time to 10 pm on weekends from Saturday (December 23). The museum shop developed at a cost of nearly Rs 5 lakh, would sell souvenirs and other accessories to visitors. The shop opened on the first floor of the museum also sells fridge magnets, key chains, locomotive toys and train-themed gifts.

The museum currently hosts heritage exhibits dating from the 1800s, a toy train that takes visitors around the premises, and a playground. The museum’s collection includes both indoor and outdoor exhibits. The indoor galleries include various photographs detailing the early years of Integral Coach Factory and the Indian Railways. The museum also houses a working scale model of trains and rare artefacts from the colonial days.