Three months have passed since the launch of the Mass Rapid Transit system (MRTS) extension project from Velachery to St. Thomas Mount, but there is no sight of the halts being provided at the Adambakkam railway station.

The MRTS extension project was inaugurated on March 14 this year and full-scale suburban train services started between St. Thomas Mount and Chennai Beach stations. However, of two railway stations on the extension line — Adambakkam and Puzhithivakkam — trains were not allowed to stop at Adambakkam after Chief Commissioner of Railway Safety (CCRS) Janak Kumar Garg found infringement in the platform alignment during his inspection.

When Mr. Garg, who also held the Commissioner of Railway Safety (Southern circle) post, gave the provisional certificate to start services on the MRTS extension stretch, he had included several restrictions, including no stoppage provisions at the Adambakkam station and a severe speed restriction.

A Southern Railway official said that at present, civic works, barring increasing the platform height, had been completed at the Adambakkam station. The main issue was the platform alignment, which Mr. Garg wanted at the all India standardised level. “The Research Designs and Standard Organisation (RDSO) has to provide the design for this, and once the design is ready, the platform alignment will be corrected within a month. We hope to finish it by July,” he said.

Meanwhile, commuters complained that the speed restrictions on a major portion of the 4.5-km stretch was adding to the travel time and about the lack of escalators at Puzhithivakkam station. They want the speed restrictions to be removed. In the provisional authorisation, the CCRS had stressed the need to provide essential passenger amenities, including lifts, escalators, drinking water, restrooms, and that proper signage had to be put up at stations before starting passenger train services.

In fact, Mr. Garg had pointed out that installation of escalators at the Puzhithivakkam station, which was under way at the time, should be completed by May 15. A recent visit to the station showed that only the lifts were in working condition.

T. Sundaram, a resident of Balaji Nagar in Puzhithivakkam, said as the railway platform was at an elevated level, senior citizens are forced to take the stairs. Though the lift worked, commuters have to wait for a long time to take it during peak hours, he added.