Paranur railway station, located in Chengalpettu serves the neighbourhood of Paranur and the Mahindra World City at New Chennai. The station helps about 20,000 people commute between Chennai Beach and Paranur.  The station is noted as the first of its kind public–private partnership (PPP) projects in the country.  The Indian Railways entered into an agreement with Mahindra World City Developers (MWCD) for the redesign, renovation (completed in 2007) and maintenance of the station.

The Redesign & Renovation:

The redesign included renovating two platforms to cater to the transit oriented development of the Mahindra World City, and the provision of an additional platform in the station for future use. The existing foot over-bridge was retained, repaired and refurbished while new facilities for the public were created. These included the ticketing office, rest rooms and station staff rooms. A new structure was built for this purpose which addressed the differential levels between Manhidra World City and the existing platforms, while providing additional circulation space and an arrival experience for the commuters.

The platforms were re-floored with natural stone and tiles were laid in patterns demarcating safety edges for commuter protection. Roofing sheets were replaced with minimal changes to the existing structural elements. Platform furniture including seating, drinking water fountains and bins were designed to ensure being pilfer proof and contemporary. Landscaping and water run offs were detailed.

The roof covering for the foot over-bridge and a ramp access from Mahindra World City to the Paranur Station were also detailed, to be executed at a later stage.

Read more: Article from The Hindu

Photo Credit: https://ebuild.in/paranur-railway-station