British era railway stations at Vellore Cantonment, Tiruvannamalai, Arakkonam, Vaniyambadi get bridges with lifts for commuters

The Southern Railway has recently completed the installation of lifts and steel foot over bridges (FOBs) at several British-era railway stations in Vellore Cantonment, Tiruvannamalai, Arakkonam, Ambur, and Vaniyambadi. This initiative, part of the Station Redevelopment Project, aims to enhance passenger amenities and safety for commuters, particularly senior citizens and women.

The new bridges, which cost around ₹1.5 crore per facility, include lifts that can accommodate about ten persons each, with several staircases on each side of the service lane. These bridges are designed to provide safe access between platforms, especially during peak hours, and are equipped with ramps for persons with disabilities and shelters with lights and CCTV cameras.

The project also includes separate arrival and departure corridors, bright LED illumination, and rainwater harvesting systems. Railway officials emphasize the importance of safety measures, including power backup, for the lifts' operation. These stations, situated along key routes like Chennai-Bengaluru and Villupuram–Tirupati, handle thousands of commuters daily, with some accommodating over 150 trains, mostly express and passenger trains, every day.