CHENNAI: Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has invited tenders for two detailed project reports (DPRs) that would extend its rail network to Chengalpattu in the south, and corridor-5 to Wimco Nagar in the north, amid the state-run operator’s second wave of expansion beyond its current under-construction corridors.
The larger of the two studies covers a roughly 27km extension of the planned Kilambakkam metro station to Chengalpattu, under Corridor-1 (Phase I). CMRL has floated the tender at an estimated cost of Rs 2.16 crore, according to sources.
The proposed line would extend the Chennai Airport-Kilambakkam metro project, for which CMRL submitted a DPR to the state government in February 2025. The 15.46km elevated corridor costing Rs 9,335 crore and including an elevated road is designed to link Chennai Airport with the Kilambakkam bus terminus via 13 stations. “We are awaiting clearance for the project from the centre,” a Metro Rail official said.
The second tender, at a cost of Rs 88 lakh, covers an 11km extension of Corridor-5 (Phase II), running from Assisi Nagar to Wimco Nagar in North Chennai. Sources said the extension is intended to strengthen metro connectivity in the city’s northern belt by linking into the existing Wimco Nagar metro station. Wimco Nagar in North Chennai is being recast as a transport interchange, with Indian Railways, Chennai Metro and the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (Cumta) converging on plans to integrate suburban, regional and urban mobility at a single node. Both DPRs are expected to be completed within four months, sources said.
