Metro to allow expos at stations for revenue

The exhibitions would be allowed at non-paid areas, precisely, from the entrance to the ticket counter. Financial planners of CMRL were working out the cost of the stations when DTNext contacted them. Though it is a bit early to ascertain the financial viability of the plan, it could be a real money spinner if metro plays the cards right in promoting its prime realty, which extends from Chennai Airport to Little Mount and St Thomas Mount to Nehru Park via Koyambedu. 

CMBT, Koyambedu, Vadapalani, Alandur, Tirumangalam and Chennai Airport stations could be primary target of exhibition organisers considering their high ridership and proximity of a few stations to upwardly mobile residential areas and shopping hubs. Ashok Nagar, Ekkattuthangal, St Thomas Mount, Anna Nagar Tower, Anna Nagar East and Nehru Park have been identified as stations with moderate footfall. Apart from tendering advertisement contracts, CMRL has also rented out its stations to food joints to fetch additional revenue thus far. 

A senior CMRL official, requesting anonymity, said the exhibitions would be allowed in such a way that they do not hinder passenger movement, mainly during emergencies for which they have well-designed evacuation plans in place. “The idea is to utilise the space and net additional revenue so that our financial dependence on the government could be reduced,” the official explained. 

CMRL is banking on extension of train service to Chennai Central from Nehru Park, which has been scheduled for the end of December, to popularise the exhibition plan. “Ridership would spike as soon as Central – Airport link gets established. Our business plans would also pick up then,” a financial planner of CMRL remarked.