Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) plans to operationalise the 11-km stretch from Madhavaram to Retteri before 2026 end, as per CMRL officials.
In three years, commuters in Madhavaram, Manjambakkam, and Retteri can use the Metro Rail as the Madhavaram-Retteri stretch will open by 2026.
Several years ago, CMRL began planning Phase II of their project, which included a 118.9 km stretch of transportation. The focus was on a priority corridor of 52 km, which would be operational first. The priority corridor consisted of two sections, one from Madhavaram to CMBT and another from Madhavaram to Sholinganallur.
However, due to multiple issues arising, the Poonamallee to Power House stretch became the priority. Despite the switch, the Madhavaram to Retteri section still falls under the initial priority corridor plan and remains included in the Madhavaram to CMBT line.
The line will begin with a shallow underground station at Madhavaram Depot Metro and continue as an elevated line up until it reaches Retteri junction.
The upcoming Madhavaram Depot Metro line will have stations located in Madhavaram Depot Metro, Assisi Nagar, Manjambakkam, Velmurugan Nagar, Madhavaram Bus Terminus, Shastri Nagar, and Retteri junction.
“At present, even though we are concentrating to complete the Poonamallee to Porur stretch by 2025 and the Porur to Power House stretch the next year, simultaneously we have also increased the pace of work between Madhavaram and Retteri junction and want to open it before the end of 2026. So far, 65 piers have been constructed, and work is progressing at a good speed,” an official said, reports The Hindu.
According to another CMRL official, the construction of Madhavaram depot, which will serve as the hub for train maintenance and storage, is also underway. The depot is expected to be ready for trial runs and operations.
The reason for postponing the opening of the stretch to Power House after Poonamallee is due to the depot's completion. The official added that operations can only begin in a section once the accompanying depot is completed.
Chennai Metro Phase II
The expansion of Metro Phase II is planned with a network length of 118.9 km with 128 stations. It consists of three corridors, namely Corridor-3, from Madhavaram to SIPCOT (45.8 km), Corridor-4, from Lighthouse to Poonamalle Bypass (26.1 km), Corridor-5, from Madhavaram at Sholinganallur (47 km).
The estimated cost of the project is Rs 63,246 crore.
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