Commuters travelling through the elevated section of Chennai Metro Rail will get a beautiful glimpse of the sea and be able to shop and eat as well.
From essential oils and jewellery to tea and milkshakes, commuters will see some shopping and eating options as quite a few retail outlets of Indco Tea House, Tribes India store and Aavin have been opened in the newly opened 9 km stretch from Washermanpet to Wimco Nagar.
Aavin has opened one outlet at Wimco Nagar Metro Rail station and plans to open parlours at Central, Alandur and Nandanam stations as well. “They will be manned by our staff from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Once we get permission from Chennai Metro for the remaining stations, we will begin work,” said a source.
The Nilgiris-based Industrial Cooperative Tea Federation has opened its Indco Tea House in five stations and has plans to diversify to more locations. "Over the last year we have curated 11 tea products including Bedford and Honey Hill that are specific to the Nilgiris. We have massive expansion plans and will soon introduce two mobile Tea Vandis in Chennai," said Supriya Sahu, CEO, Tamil Nadu Tea Federation.
According to officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), they plan to open more such outlets in the coming weeks. “This will also in a way attract people to come to stations and help in increasing the ridership,” he said.
