Yippee!! A group of Architects have come-up with a fabulous idea of using the Chennai MRTS infrastructure to append a walkway and cycle path.
Paths for Pedestrians and Cyclists along MRTS

Very enterprising thought indeed. The MRTS infrastructure is presently not used to its potential - I mean the rail facility itself. This is owing to poor coverage and very difficult or non-existent inter-connectivity with other rail systems and modes of transport. That could improve once the the Velachery St. Thomas Mount link is implemented (I have been seeing this work in progress for at least 7 years now!! Phew) and the metro link to Mount also gets implemented.

The real-estate at MRTS station has been and is a colossal waste of space and money - ironically so when we can find homeless and destitute people go without shelter in heat, rain and cold. This proposal of walkways and cycle paths, if considered constructively and also implemented could prove very beneficial to people in more ways than one. Such connectivity will bring more footfalls into the MRTS real-estate (the stations). This can make commercial, recreational and educational activity at the stations viable and sustainable. Food courts, general merchandise, library, Internet Cafe's, community halls, small vendor outlets are all possibilities. If each model is chosen properly, it can provide job opportunities to the needy and also serve the needs of people who traverse the stations. Add to it the possibility of roof-top solar panels at these stations and you can clearly see how this can result in a Green Initiative of its own  (promote walking, cycling - reduce fossil fuel automobile use, solar power will avoid fossil fuel power) besides other benefits.

Sincerely hoping someone in a place to effect these changes either thinks or listens to such possibilities and develops the concept for consideration at the highest level. The time is just right for such initiatives in the wake of smart city initiatives, push for reforms in the way we think about India as a country and Indians as a population.

Even just making the escalators work will bring in older people into the MRTS patronage. The thought of climbing 4 dozen steps puts off most people over 50 years of age owing to typical health issues, particularly joint pains.