Chennai: Motorists’, who use Ega theatre junction on Poonamallee high road, are waiting with bated breath for the road to be brought back to its past glory to avoid traffic jams at the key junction.
In order to facilitate the Chennai metro rail construction, the Ega theatre road that had two-way traffic flow was converted into one-way road. The shrunken traffic has been causing severe inconvenience to motorists, who suffer from frequent traffic snarls.
“It is difficult to bring traffic under control as the one-way stretch is leading to a gridlock scenario. During wee hours, traffic is overwhelming. We are also looking for a solution that would put an end to this hardship,” said one of the traffic sergeants.
Commuters expected the road to be opened for two-way traffic after the Metro services on the stretch was opened.
Krishna Kumar M., a motorist, who uses this stretch regularly to reach his office, said, “It is very difficult to ride in this traffic. I am taking a detour to my office that is located on Harrington Road extending my travel time by more than 20 minutes.
Unless, this stretch is made a two-way traffic, it is going to be difficult for motorists like us.”
However, official sources said the two-way traffic flow would be put in place as the rail work is in the final phase. The road will get its original phase only after 100 per cent work.
Several parts of the city had undergone a lot of similar changes in their traffic flow. The issues are piling up and commuters are suffering from congestion in the roads. Several issues leading to traffic congestion such as unfinished state of storm water drain construction, dug up for telephone cables, ill maintenance of causeways in the city are heavily affecting the motorists.
ICF coaches for Kolkata metro to be flagged off today
A total of eight state-of-the-art metro coaches manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory in the city and to be inducted into Kolkata metro, will be flagged off on Tuesday by A.K. Mittal, chairman of Railway Board and Sudhanshu Mani, general manager, Integral Coach Factory.
The coaches, manufactured at a total cost of Rs 40 crore, are comparatively low cost production compared to the other existing coaches. ICF had previously provided coaches to the Kolkata metro in 2012 and 2013.
The facilities in the modern coaches include automatic sliding doors and infotainment systems that computerise the routes and travel time. The infotainment system will also provide other important information regarding the routes and the destinations where it will be inducted. The Air Suspension Bogies (ASR) is another highlight of the bogies, which will provide a better cushioning effect to the commuters. The coaches like other existing coaches will be with air conditioning, said railway officials.
The Integral Coach Factory plans to expand its market by eyeing upcoming metro rail projects in the country as well as projects in the neighboring countries like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
