CMRL Revises Chennai Airport-Kilambakkam Line's Design To Slash Costs By Rs 1,000 Crore

In a bid to cut the soaring costs of the much-anticipated metro rail route from Chennai airport to Kilambakkam, Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) and the State Highways Department have decided to rework the proposed design.

The redesign aims to reduce construction expenses by lowering the height of the elevated structure. This revised design, the third iteration that CMRL has developed in collaboration with the highways department, is expected to trim the project's cost by at least Rs 1,000 crore.

The decision to revamp the design came after CMRL and the highways department determined that the original plan, with its considerable height, would be prohibitively expensive. This realisation led to the creation of a second plan.

Initially, the project proposed a three-tier structure featuring the metro rail at the highest level, an expressway in the middle, and the existing Pallavaram flyover below. This multi-level design was planned for other key locations like the Chrompet roundabout and above the Tambaram flyover.

“With a road width of nearly 30 meters, we can build a flyover on either side without integrating it with the Metro line, which will be placed above the flyover,” explained Archunan.

Despite the changes, even the second plan was deemed too costly, prompting officials to return to the drawing board about a month ago. "Our current plan calls for two levels but at a much lower height, which will save at least Rs 1,000 crore in construction costs," Archunan added.

The work on finalising this cost-effective design is ongoing. "We are trying to integrate the Metro line with the existing infrastructure at Pallavaram, Chrompet, and Tambaram to reduce height and associated costs. Further discussions with the highways department will help finalise the details," Archunan noted.