Kilambakkam railway station, skywalk inauguration pushed to January 2026

CHENNAI: The opening of Kilambakkam railway station and pedestrian skywalk linking it to Kilambakkam Kalaignar Centenary Bus Terminus (KCBT) has been postponed to January next year, forcing commuters to face hardship during the festive season. Commuters heading to the bus terminus, located nearly 25 km from Chennai, are spending between Rs 300 and Rs 500 on auto rickshaws and cabs to board mofussil and SETC buses. Additionally, with no foot overbridge in place, hundreds of commuters continue to risk their lives by crossing GST Road on foot to access the bus stand. The construction of the halt station, which began in September last year with a 12-month deadline, has been delayed by both CMDA and the southern railway. Despite repeated claims from officials that all bottlenecks have been cleared, progress of the railway station remains minimal. The 450-metre pedestrian skywalk across GST Road, intended to connect the station with KCBT, has also made no headway, and remains incomplete in front of the bus terminus. The state government has transferred Rs 20 crore to the railways for developing the station. Southern Railway has blamed the CMDA for the delay in completing the skywalk, which has in turn stalled station works. One platform has been completed with shelters. Work on the 400-metre-long island platform is under way, with earth-filling finished. At the Urapakkam end, foundation work for installing shelter is in progress, said a spokesperson of Chennai railway division. The official added CMDA has laid the foundation for a foot overbridge (FOB) at the down platform (Tambaram-Chengalpattu side), while preliminary work at the island platform has also begun. Once CMDA completes the FOB, pending platform works will be taken up, he said. According to CMDA officials, pillars for the FOB have already been installed at the MTC bus stand. The skywalk across GST Road can only be taken up during festival holidays. We plan to complete one section after Ayudha Pooja, and the other after Deepavali. The FOB will be linked to the railway station and completed by January, they said. KCBT handles nearly 2 lakh commuters on weekends and festival days. But apart from MTC buses, there is no other public transport to access the terminus for those travelling to the delta, northern, and southern districts. S Rajarathinam, a commuter from St Thomas Mount, said, Fearing traffic congestion, I reached the bus stand two hours ahead of the scheduled departure of my SETC bus. I spent Rs 400 just to get there. The government should not have shifted the terminus without ensuring proper public transport connectivity.