chennai the second phase of metro rail which is expected to be operational in six years may have stations with different look and feel this is because the design consultants and architects at chennai metro rail limited cmrl are using computer software for running simulations to come up with designs that suit each placethe computer programme will also help install critical systems required for train operations along the 1189km stretch of phase2 this according to cmrl will reduce cost and time of construction while also making optimal use of the available space the difference is like buying a readymade garment and getting a tailormade one if its too big or too small for us its not going to serve the purpose we are designing stations taking into account projected passenger traffic without compromising on comfort it will not be a cutpaste design for all stations an official saidas the detailed design for the 52km priority corridor between madhavaramsholinganallur and madhavaramkoyambedu is being prepared the design consultants are feeding computers with projected ridership site conditions and available space for construction for instance in phase1 the airport station has only two entryexit points while thirumangalam has four but both the stations handle the same passenger traffic which means we can make do with two entryexit pointsin phase1 cmrl went with a standard design with four entryexit points and other features like staircases escalators and elevators as well as other critical systems like tunnel ventilation in almost all stations while transit hubs like alandur and central were bigger in size and had additional features most of the other stations were nearly of the same sizea metrorail official said while the average station length may be around 145m the width may vary similarly all stations except changeover points may have only two entry points unlike four in phase1 stations stations in phase2 may not have a big concourse area some of the stations planned in phase2 like thousand lights and kilpauk which already have stations in phase1 may be linked so commuters could use the existing entryexit points to access the stationsother features like the size and number of staircases escalators and elevators linking station at three levels street street level concourse and platform may vary with stations the size of the stations may be the same because we need space for evacuation of passengers during emergencies an official said