Chennai Central Metro to Open 5,000sqft Book Park Soon

Chennai Central Metro's 5,000sqft book park opens soon with 10K titles, Wi-Fi, events, and discounts—bringing literature to the city's busiest transit hub.

on Jun 04, 2025

Chennai Central Metro to Open 5,000sqft Book Park Soon

Chennai Central metro station's new 5,000sqft book park might have been postponed, but it's already set to become the city's next literary icon.

Originally targeted to open in April by chief minister MK Stalin, the library is now targeted to open in June to the public. With checkered blue-and-grey carpeting, glass walls, snug reading nooks, and a flat 10% discount on every title, the library has been designed to be a reader's paradise in the midst of the city's most populated transit hub.

The 5,000sqft space within the Chennai Central Metro will accommodate 70 bookshelves, a small event hall, reading tables with comfortable seating and a cafeteria. "There is enough space and 3 lakh people crossing Chennai Central Metro daily. A big book park is being set up there to encourage reading habit," said Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation official.

The 5,000sqft space within the Chennai Central Metro will accommodate 70 bookshelves, a mini event space, reading tables with reclining chairs, and a cafeteria. "There is ample space and 3 lakh people traveling through Chennai Central Metro daily. A huge book park is being set up there to encourage reading habit," said an official of Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation.

The library will have 8,000 to 10,000 books covering an extensive spectrum of topics ranging from dictionaries, politics, literature, education, science, agriculture, medicine, economics, history, archaeology books, children's books, stories, and poetry.

Books would be kept in Tamil, English, Telugu, and other Indian languages as well as translated works of global literature. The library will be opened every day from 9am to 9pm. "Several facilities are being offered to the public such as Wi-Fi, a cafeteria, a small auditorium for book releases, and a hall that can hold 80 individuals for literary functions. The books will all be sold at one point, providing an arena where publishers and readers will interact," the official stated. Managed by Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation on a revenue-sharing basis, the Chennai Central book park can also act as a model for other such centers in the state. "Based on the response from the public and commuters, we can consider replicatingf this model at other centers," said P Shankar, director, public library.