CHENNAI: Metro Rail commuters eagerly wait for the 47-km stretch linking Madhavaram to Sholinganallur to be completed, as the Chennai Metro Rail Ltd (CMRL) resumes piling works at various places, including the Adyar river.
The proposed corridor, which passes through the main zones comprising many IT parks such as WIPRO, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys, and Industrial estates namely Small Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT) and Nehru Nagar Industrial Estate is likely to bring in much-needed respite to commuters whose only mode of transport is bus.
A Metro Rail spokesman said piling work for CMRL’s elevated stretch along the Adyar river near Nandambakkam (Corridor-5) has started. They said the contract for the elevated stretch, which has been divided into three packages, has been awarded. It is learnt that Corridor-5’s elevated stretch will be 40.07km and 5km underground.
“The foundation and pier works have started across all the elevated stretches, for which tender has been awarded. For the underground stretch, the tender has been called,” said official sources. The line will have 48 stations, of which six will be underground, one at grade and 41 elevated. While details are not available, the State government had recently announced a feasibility study to extend metro rail’s corridor-5 from Thirumangalam to Avadi via Mogappair and Ambattur.
The stretch from Koyambedu Market Metro to Sholinganallur Metro covers a length of 28.3 km, with nearly 30 stations under Corridor-5. Out of 30, seven stations, including Alwarthirunagar, Valasaravakkam, Karambakkam, Alapakkam and Porur, are common for corridors 4 and 5.