Latest news with #T.Archunan
The Hindu
09-06-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Chennai Metro Rail to build leisure facilities, workplaces at Phase II's Thirumangalam station
Like Kokura Station in Japan or Chongqing in China, Thirumangalam station will emerge as a place where people can shop, dine, or work on one floor and then catch a ride on the Chennai Metro Rail network on another. In a couple of months, Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) will start the construction of four towers in Thirumangalam. According to CMRL officials, they have floated bids for the massive project, which is located opposite to the Anna Nagar West Depot, near the Phase I Thirumangalam Metro station. Sprawling over 3.85 acres, the project will comprise the Phase II Thirumangalam Metro station and four towers. While Towers A and C will have three basements, a ground floor, and nine upper floors, the station will be in Tower B, which will have a ground floor and nine upper floors. Tower D will have a ground floor and two upper floors. In Tower B, the third floor will have the concourse and the platforms will be on the fourth floor. While ground floors will have retail and convenience stores in Towers A, B, and C, the first and second floors have been earmarked for commercial development similar to malls, and floors five to nine will have dedicated office spaces. T. Archunan, Director (projects), CMRL, said they drew inspiration from mass rapid transit systems in Japan. 'Kokura Station is a classic example for transit-oriented development. Based on the land availability, we are taking efforts to incorporate this strategy in as many locations as possible. But Thirumangalam will stand out as a great example for transit-oriented development since trains pass through buildings, making the commute seamless for people. All they have to do is switch floors to take the train,' he added. Manoharan Nambiar of Thirumangalam said that since there were apartments, a mall, and business establishments, the area suffered from traffic congestion both on weekdays and during weekends. 'Hence, two Metro Rail stations in Thirumangalam is a great boon to commuters. If commercial development and office spaces are planned alongside a mass rapid transport, it substantially improves mobility and does not add to congestion on the road,' he said. A. Shankar, India Head, Government Advisory and Infrastructure Solutions, Jones Lang LaSalle Property Consultants, said Metro systems across the world were being developed from the perspective of transit-oriented development. 'At a time when there is a great demand for office spaces, building them in the same tower with a Metro Rail system will be a great way to do it. Companies will prefer it and take them since they don't have to spend on providing transport for their workers,' he added. Sangami Nagarajan, an urban planner, said mix-use development always worked and would significantly aid in gradually nudging people to shift public transport in the future. 'Integrated development such as this are baby steps that will ensure that more people prefer public transport,' she added. 'Take for instance, the malls in the city. The one in Vadapalani has Metro Rail access, whereas the one in Velachery does not. Hence, the pressure on parking space is manyfold in the latter's case. Also, when stations are located close to the workplace or within the same tower, patronage for the transit system will be high, since people will readily opt for taking trains instead of their vehicles,' Ms. Nagarajan said.
The Hindu
09-06-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Chennai Metro Rail Limited to incorporate leisure facilities, workplaces at Phase II's Thirumangalam station
Like Kokura Station in Japan or Chongqing in China, Thirumangalam station will emerge as a place where people can shop, dine, or work on one floor and then catch a ride on the Chennai Metro Rail network on another. In a couple of months, Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) will start the construction of four towers in Thirumangalam. According to CMRL officials, they have floated bids for the massive project, which is located opposite to the Anna Nagar West Depot, near the Phase I Thirumangalam Metro station. Sprawling over 3.85 acres, the project will comprise the Phase II Thirumangalam Metro station and four towers. While Towers A and C will have three basements, a ground floor, and nine upper floors, the station will be in Tower B, which will have a ground floor and nine upper floors. Tower D will have a ground floor and two upper floors. In Tower B, the third floor will have the concourse and the platforms will be on the fourth floor. While ground floors will have retail and convenience stores in Towers A, B, and C, the first and second floors have been earmarked for commercial development similar to malls, and floors five to nine will have dedicated office spaces. T. Archunan, Director (projects), CMRL, said they drew inspiration from mass rapid transit systems in Japan. 'Kokura Station is a classic example for transit-oriented development. Based on the land availability, we are taking efforts to incorporate this strategy in as many locations as possible. But Thirumangalam will stand out as a great example for transit-oriented development since trains pass through buildings, making the commute seamless for people. All they have to do is switch floors to take the train,' he added. Manoharan Nambiar of Thirumangalam said that since there were apartments, a mall, and business establishments, the area suffered from traffic congestion both on weekdays and during weekends. 'Hence, two Metro Rail stations in Thirumangalam is a great boon to commuters. If commercial development and office spaces are planned alongside a mass rapid transport, it substantially improves mobility and does not add to congestion on the road,' he said. A. Shankar, India Head, Government Advisory and Infrastructure Solutions, Jones Lang LaSalle Property Consultants, said Metro systems across the world were being developed from the perspective of transit-oriented development. 'At a time when there is a great demand for office spaces, building them in the same tower with a Metro Rail system will be a great way to do it. Companies will prefer it and take them since they don't have to spend on providing transport for their workers,' he added. Sangami Nagarajan, an urban planner, said mix-use development always worked and would significantly aid in gradually nudging people to shift public transport in the future. 'Integrated development such as this are baby steps that will ensure that more people prefer public transport,' she added. 'Take for instance, the malls in the city. The one in Vadapalani has Metro Rail access, whereas the one in Velachery does not. Hence, the pressure on parking space is manyfold in the latter's case. Also, when stations are located close to the workplace or within the same tower, patronage for the transit system will be high, since people will readily opt for taking trains instead of their vehicles,' Ms. Nagarajan said.
The Hindu
21-05-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
There is a need to ramp up research to cater to the growing demands of infrastructure sector, says Chennai Metro official
CHENNAI There should be a quantum leap in efforts to improve infrastructure, T. Archunan, director (projects), Chennai Metro Rail Limited said here on Wednesday. Speaking at the diamond jubilee conference on 'Monitoring, Assessment and Predictive Maintenance of Critical Infrastructures, i-MAP 2025' organised by CSIR-Structural Engineering Research Centre (SERC), he said, SERC was a great institution and there was a need to have more such institutes in the country. But he noted that institutions like SERC, IITs and the other labs have to ramp up to meet the growing demand in the infrastructure sector. The research institutes are not adequate to meet the demands of infrastructure projects. 'We don't have tunnel codes. We have to improve our theory to suit our execution,' he said. Ravindra Kumar Goel, principal executive director (bridges), Ministry of Railways, Rail Bhavan, said, they were maintaining and sustaining very old structures with care, even as the expansion of the railway network was under way. 'There are nearly 34,000 bridges which are more than 100 years old, and we have to sustain them. It is not easy,' he said. There was a need to integrate with SERC, IITs or other academic institutions which could help with mitigating problems in the maintenance of infrastructure, he said and noted that for the Pamban bridge, the health monitoring system instrumentation was provided by the SERC. Srinivas Voggu, chief scientist, CSIR-SERC and organiser of i-MAP 2025 said, over decades, SERC has been carrying out design and performance assessment of critical infrastructure in the country. N. Anandavalli, director CSIR-SERC also spoke during the occasion.
