CHENNAI: The Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has drawn up a 45-day plan to complete track-laying work on the remaining 5-km stretch of Red Line between the Chennai Trade Centre (CTC) and Alandur.
T Archunan, director of projects at CMRL, told TNIE that track laying between Koyambedu and CTC has been completed. Works on about 500 metres of the 5-km stretch beyond the CTC have also been completed. CMRL plans to finish the remaining 4.5 km in 45 days, following which traction and signalling works will be taken up.
The 47-km Red Line, once complete, will run through 45 stations from Madhavaram in the north to Sholinganallur in the south — a corridor that touches some of the city’s densest residential and commercial belts.
Archunan said CMRL could conduct internal trial runs on completed stretches in November or December, before the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) carries out its inspection and prescribed safety checks. The trial run is planned up to CTC and later to Alandur, he added.
On the operational Yellow Line between Vadapalani and Porur, where work at some stations is still pending, Archunan said CMRL officials had met the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) seeking an extension for completing the signalling system.
The CRS had asked CMRL to expedite the signalling work, while civil works at the stations would proceed simultaneously, he said.
CMRL had initially planned to introduce automatic signalling on the Porur-Vadapalani stretch by October, but it has been delayed due to additional programming and installation requirements.
Trains currently operate in manual mode, requiring drivers to stop at signals at three locations along the stretch. “The extension is only for signalling work. It has nothing to do with civil works,” the official said, adding that the existing manual signalling arrangement could continue until March 2027.
The distinction is significant because the station infrastructure and track works are progressing on separate timelines. CMRL is accelerating station construction, particularly entry and exit facilities, which have emerged as a labour-intensive bottleneck. Around 750-850 workers are currently deployed on these activities, against an estimated additional requirement of about 1,000, the official added.
Overall, around 2,500 workers are engaged in the project, but the workforce available for station access facilities, painting and other finishing activities remains inadequate.
CMRL is targeting December-January for completing the remaining six station works — Alapakkam, Karambakkam, Valasaravakkam, Alwarthirunagar, Virugambakam South and Saligramam. Of these, four — Alwarthirunagar, Valasaravakkam, Karambakkam and Alapakkam — are double-decker stations and are expected to be ready in January.