Egmore

Egmore is by far one of the busiest localities in Chennai. This locality is centrally positioned and is mostly known and used for its railway station. The Egmore Railway Station is as important to Chennai as the Chennai Central Railway Station, as it connects the city to major cities in South India.

Egmore is also one of Chennai’s commercial centers, and attracts locals and tourists alike. Here, there are numerous shops, restaurants, historical monuments, guest houses, hotels, pubs, bars, and so on. For sightseeing, the St. Andrew’s Church built in 1821 and the Madras Museum built in 1851 stand out the most due to their Palladian and Neoclassical architecture.

The locality’s location is ideal for transport, commercial shopping, healthcare, and education. Residents of Egmore can avail the services of Egmore Railway Station, the nearby Chennai Central Railway Station, and the Public and Private buses. There is also a big bus hub for parcel services.

Egmore benefits from being in close proximity to the Apollo Hospital on Greams Road and the Government General Hospital on Poonamallee High Road. And the schools and colleges here are quite impressive too, like the Government College of Fine Arts, Madras School of Social Work, Don Bosco Matriculation Higher Secondary School, and Ethiraj Women’s College.

Chennai’s biggest automobile spares market is in Egmore - Pudupet Market. And a major electronics market is nearby as well - Richie Street - where customers come to buy cheap electronics. Two of the biggest shopping complexes are nearby too, Spencer Plaza and Express Avenue. Egmore is only 5 kilometers from Marina Beach.

Connectivity and transit points

While the Egmore Railway station helps to connect travelers to cities in South India, being only 3 kilometers away from the Chennai Central Railway Station grants Egmore access to most of North India as well. The Airport, on the other hand is much farther, at 17.5 kilometers from Egmore. Traveling to the airport by road can be time consuming as there is heavy traffic in the city during peak hours. Fortunately, trains can be caught from the railway station that take commuters directly to the Chennai International Airport.

The public bus stands in the locality connect Egmore to all major localities in Chennai, a notable government bus stand is the one in front of the railway station. The private bus stand in Egmore has buses that travel outwards, to other states. Most of these private buses halt at the Koyambedu bus stand before heading out.

Major landmarks

•          Government Museum
•          Connemara Library
•          Egmore Railway Station

Factors for growth in the past

In 1908, the Egmore Railway Station was constructed by the British, turning Egmore into a key locality. Egmore’s growth caused by this railway station is still in effect, as real estate prices and connectivity continue to increase.

The construction of malls, hospitals, educational institutes, and government offices in this locality has furthered the growth of this locality. Restaurants and hotels have also done their part in making Egmore more attractive.

Residential & commercial market

Most of the residential buildings are apartments, but there are a considerable number of individual houses in most of the neighborhoods. The price for buying apartments in Egmore is between Rs 11,600 to Rs 13,900 per sq. ft. Prices have been experiencing ups and downs in the last couple of years, and the first quarter of 2014 has experienced a slight dip in the prices. Commercial rent has also been shifting up and down. Current market price for renting out commercial space in Egmore is Rs 45 to Rs 50 per sq. ft.

Major challenges

Egmore has been around for some time now, and has sorted out most of the civic issues that it had, like with infrastructure. However, there are still a few problems that Egmore needs to tackle.

One of which is that Egmore has one of the city’s largest slum clusters. Those who live in the slum have been facing all kinds of harsh conditions, including flash floods and sewage water on the roads. The problem here is that the government officials find it a little tricky to provide sanitation and build anti-flooding networks for the slum when it is an unapproved slum.

Another ongoing issue is about inaugurating a prepaid auto-rickshaw system at the Egmore Railway Station. This has been a government priority for some time now, but is yet to be implemented due to administrative reasons and also because of mixed opinions from auto-rickshaw drivers.

Factors for growth in the future

The only and most anticipated development that will boost Egmore even further in terms of connectivity is the ongoing metro rail construction. This will bypass all of Chennai’s traffic effortlessly - especially because it is going to be an underground metro station. Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) have decided to run two metro lines below the city from Egmore to Nehru Park.

The project started in July 2012 and both of the tunnel-boring machines have completely tunneled from Nehru Park to Egmore, by 28th of January, 2014. After the tunneling, the diaphragm wall panels and plunge columns have been built. There is still a considerable construction work that needs to be done by CMRL before the metro rail station is completely operational.

This development is in the right direction as Egmore is the connecting hub of the city and beyond.