Egmore-Beach 4th line work hit as RBI won't handover land, alleges activist

CHENNAI: Did the Reserve Bank of India’s refusal to give a tiny piece of land affect the Southern Railway’s work to lay the fourth line between Egmore and Beach railway stations, a project that benefits thousands of people every day? Even as Railway officials are tightlipped about it, a reply obtained under a Right to Information Act petition filed by a Chennai-based activist does indicate this.

After coming to know that the Southern Railway’s plan to lay the fourth line between the two busy stations was affected for want of just 278 square metre land (less than seven cents) from RBI, activist Dayanand Krishnan filed an RTI petition with RBI headquarters in Mumbai.

In its reply, the central bank accepted that Railways sought 278 sqm land that it owns. But to the question seeking details of the land that the RBI has accepted to hand over to the Railways for laying the fourth line between Egmore–Beach stations, the reply was just a single word – Nil.

"As the RBI did not permit land acquisition, a single line was made for MRTS after Chennai Fort station. So it has become like a loop line. After crossing the RBI subway, the tracks are branched out to enhance the movement of trains. Initially, there was space for two lines but as Railways was not able to accommodate an additional line for MRTS, the additional space was requested from RBI," Dayanand said.

Claiming that the land required only had an internal road measuring 73 sqm in all and the rest being a solar plant, the activist said the issue should be sorted out between Finance and Railways at the ministerial level. This would help lakhs of people travelling on MRTS every day, as the frequency of trains could be increased, he said.

According to Southern Railway sources, the State government, Madras Medical College, and even the Defence Ministry had handed over the land for the project. When contacted, a senior Railway official said the RBI land was no longer required for the MRTS work, which has already been completed. But only one line is being operated currently, he added.