CHENNAI: Travelling in the city has just got easier. Now, you can board a metro from Airport, zip through the city and reach Chennai Central on the same air conditioned coach. It will halt at some of the busiest transport hubs of the city – Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus, Egmore railway station and Central, where one can link with suburban trains. The metro that was not running to its capacity is expected to see a surge in footfall.
Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Housing And Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri flagged off the services in the 2.7km stretch between Nehru Park and Central and 4.5km from Saidapet to AG — DMS on Friday. They also inaugurated Egmore, Central, Saidapet, Nandanam, Teynampet and AG — DMS metro stations.
The most convenient and hassle free metro train connectivity to Central and Egmore - two busiest train stations, is expected to reduce congestion on roads. The Egmore and Central stations handle about 1.20 lakh passengers a day. The two stations have daily trains to all major cities across the country.
The chief minister also announced that metro line between Light House and Poonamallee via Vadapalani and Porur is being considered under the Chennai Metro Rail Project Phase II.He said the government has granted in principle approval to develop three stretches at an estimated cost of `76, 961 crore for about 107.77km under Chennai Metro Rail Project Phase II.