Swanky lounge at Central station soon
Lounge would be fully air conditioned with sophisticated furniture plus WiFi facility
Chennai: Waiting for a train is indeed a pain. Worse, if it is at Chennai Central, where fans are rare to find. Add parcels obstructing public movement on platforms and stray dogs scampering across the crowded concourse area. Chennai Central is certainly not a place you would want to be to catch trains. But, things are to change soon.
Southern Railway is planning a complete makeover of the station. A defining feature of the changes would be an executive lounge on the first floor overseeing the old concourse area, which could leave visitors jaw-dropped. It will be a fully air-conditioned facility with sophisticated furniture plus WiFi facility with increased bandwidth. It will most likely come up in the space adjacent to the IRCTC office. The railways is also considering providing lifts for the convenience of passengers.
“Some lift manufacturers have already come and studied the interiors because it should be done without disturbing the heritage structure,” a senior railway officer said. Originally, two escalators were proposed at an estimated cost of Rs 2.4 crore, but the space requirement for escalators was very high.
“A few pillars have to be razed to accommodate the escalators and hence we dropped the escalator proposal and settled for lifts,” the officer explained, adding that the executive lounge will be a fully paid service open to all those who possess a valid ticket. Unlike the existing AC waiting hall near Jan Ahaar outlet on the ground floor, the executive lounge will be a swanky one with modern furniture.
“Bandwidth will also be much higher than the 30 minute free wi-fi currently provided in the station,” the officer added. Southern Railway is also understood to be examining the possibility of providing some modest entertainment, more than just television, in the lounge, which is expected to be functional before the year end. Already half a dozen shops adjoining the old concourse area had been removed to make way for the lifts. The station interiors had also been given a fresh coat of paint and red-yellow aluminum sheet lining as part of the renovation.