Title - Quick hop from track to road at CMBT

The bus terminus, which sees at least five lakh commuters every day, will be located just 150 metres away from the Metro station.When the Metro Rail is up and running in the first quarter of 2014, commuters may be able to get off the Metro station, hop onto an outstation bus and leave town easily.The Metro station located within the premises of Central Moffussil Bus Terminus (CMBT) will be equipped with inter-modal transport facility.The station will be located just 150 metres away from the bus terminus and it will have pedestrian pathways to connect it with the terminus.“The idea of such a station is to specially improve connectivity for passengers boarding buses to leave town and to those entering the city from the other cities,” said an official of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL).The bus terminus with six platforms, 180 bus bays and nearly 4800 buses a day, has at least five lakh people passing through every day. So, this station may prove a boon for lakhs of commuters.Like the other elevated stations, this too will comprise three levels — a ground level, concourse level and platform level.There will be a ramp from the ground level to the lift to enable access for differently-abled people.

The construction work for the station began almost three years ago and the structural work was completed in December 2012.

“The contractors are tiling and plastering the building now. Simultaneously, the main electrical work for the building is also being carried out. The station will have a granite floor and false roof,” said the official.

This station may also have a parking lot, but the area is yet to be earmarked for it, he added.

The CMBT station would be one of the 13 elevated stations in the city. The elevated stretch of the project covers a length of about 21 km.

Sources said that the station would be complete and ready for use by September 2013. CMRL plans to conduct the trial run of the 11-km Koyambedu-St.Thomas Mount stretch by the end of 2013.