Chromepet

Chromepet is a township in the southern part of Chennai, India. It is a part of the Tambaram taluk of Kanchipuram district and is located 16 kilometres from Chennai city. It lies on the Grand Southern Trunk (GST Road), close to Tambaram and next to Pallavaram. It is 4 km south of the Chennai International Airport, Tirusulam. It is the home of the famous Madras Institute of Technology, the institute where Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, former president of India and Tamil writer Sujatha studied. The neighbourhood is served by Chrompet railway station of the Chennai Suburban Railway Network.

Etymology

Chromepet is not a Tamil name. Earlier the town was the home of Chrome Leathers so the name chrome and pettai (Tamil: பேட்டை in Tamil means 'an Estate'). This company has been completely demolished and Balaji Hospital has been built in that Place. But, still you can find the traces of Chrome Leathers (its name board) when you walk through the CLC Works road, near the Chromepet Police Station .

Chromepet railway station

Chromepet railway station is one of the railway station of the Chennai Beach–Chengelpet section of the Chennai Suburban Railway Network. It serves the neighbourhoods of Chromepet, Chitlapakkam, and surrounding areas. It is situated about 25 km from Chennai Beach, and has an elevation of 23.41 m above sea level.

History

Chromepet railway station lies on the Madras Beach—Tambaram suburban section of the Chennai Suburban Railway, which was opened to traffic on 11 May 1931. The tracks were electrified on 15 November 1931. The section was converted to 25 kV AC traction on 15 January 1967.

In 1998, the railways decided to replace the level crossing at the north side of the station with a subway. In 2008, the project was re-designed as a road under bridge (RUB) with the involvement of the highways department to allow all vehicles. However, in late 2008, following objections from about 400 families residing on either side of the level crossing, the design was changed again to a limited-use subway, measuring 33 metres long, 8.3 metres wide and 3.5 metres high. On 27 February 2009, construction of the ₹ 75.5-million limited-use subway began. However, the work has been stalled due to land acquisition problems.