Moore Market Complex railway station explained

Chennai mmc Terminal
Native Name:
Moore Market Complex
Style:Indian Railways
Type:Chennai Suburban Railway station
Address:Station Road, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Owned:Ministry of Railways, Indian Railways
Line:North Line, West Line and West North Line
Platform:5
Tracks:5
Structure:Standard on-ground station
Parking:Available
Accessible:Chennai Central
Code:MASS
Zone:Southern Railways
Status:Active
Electrified:Yes
Former:Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway
Passengers:7,00,000
Pass Year:2020
Services:1000 local train services
Map Type:India Chennai

The Chennai MMC Terminal, or Moore Market Complex (station code: MASS), is a railway terminus cum commercial building complex for the Chennai Suburban Railway system, situated in Park Town in Chennai, India. The name Moore Market comes from a market that used to exist at the site before its demolition made way for the expansion of the MGR Central station.

History

Moore Market was originally built to house the hawkers in the Broadway area of Madras. Its foundation stone was laid by Sir George Moore, president of the Madras Corporation in 1898. The building was designed in the Indo-Saracenic style by R. E. Ellis and was constructed by A. Subramania Aiyar. The market, which consisted of a series of shops around a central quadrangle was finally completed in 1900, and had sections for meat, flowers and food items, but was particularly popular for curios including antiques, art, books and pets. Over the years, it gradually took the status of a flea market where one could buy rare and second-hand items for a bargain.[1] [2]

The Indian Railways, needing land to expand the congested M.G.R Chennai Central station, tried unsuccessfully to take over the market. On 30 May 1985, the market building was destroyed due to a fire whose cause remains a mystery.[3] The structure was later razed to make way for the new Chennai Suburban Railway terminus and reservation centre. This multi-storey building also houses the offices of various departments of the railways. The demolition of the market and People's Park is considered to mark the beginning of heritage activism in the city.[1]

Rehabilitation

The government later built a new commercial complex named Lily Pond Complex to rehabilitate the traders of Moore Market, further west of the original site. Built in 1986 at a cost of 66 million, the shopping complex lies mostly vacant due to poor patronage.[4] The majority of the traders continue to live on the streets to this day, hawking used mechanical and electronic goods.

Traffic

The station has five platforms, viz., platform numbers 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16, which are technically continuous with platforms in the M.G.R Chennai Central main railway station. With the laying of two additional lines in September 2016, there are now five lines running between the station and the Basin Bridge railway station. The station caters to about 275 train services daily and is used by about 200,000 passengers every day.[5]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Sriram . V. . 10 October 2008 . To market, to market... . India Today . IndiaToday.in . Chennai . 18 Nov 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110816230141/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/story/In+the+city/1/17270.html . 2011-08-16.
  2. Web site: Gun Street of Chennai . deviated . https://web.archive.org/web/20150316113228/http://chennaibest.com/discoverchennai/citylifestyle/bazaarbuzz/gunstreet.asp . 2015-03-16 . 18 Nov 2012 . ChennaiBest.com .
  3. Web site: Buckley . Maureen . 2007-01-08 . News: MOORE MARKET . deviated . https://web.archive.org/web/20070928030444/http://www.maltap.com/anglo/site/index.php?page=news&type=view&id=60 . 2007-09-28 . Anglo Indian Portal.
  4. Web site: Krishnan . P.T . Can we reverse the blight? . usurped . https://web.archive.org/web/20080719003327/http://www.hinduonnet.com/folio/fo9908/99080160.htm . 19 July 2008 . 9 December 2008.
  5. News: 22 August 2013 . Fate of Royapuram station rests on study . The Hindu . Chennai . 26 Jan 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130826101725/http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/fate-of-royapuram-station-rests-on-study/article5045857.ece . 2013-08-26.