CHENNAI: Despite reeling under labour shortage, Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) is planning to lay 200-metre track a day on the 27 km Koyambedu-Chennai Trade Centre Red Line. “Nearly 45% of track-laying work has now been completed on this stretch that helps cut the commute times across one of Chennai’s most congested arteries,” a CMRL official told TNIE.
Work on the section slowed for nearly 75 days since the recent election period as labourers left the city, leaving a workforce shortage of around 10% even now. “We currently have nearly 2,200 workers on site and expect another 300 to join within a week,” a CMRL official said while highlighting the dependence on the availability of migrant labour has on engineering capacity.
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 dense residential and commercial belts.
Officials are exploring extending operations as far as Alandur and starting the service before the end of this year. “It is an ambitious target, but discussions are under way,” the official said. “No decision as of now has been taken to extend the line to Alandur,” the official added.
The track laying work is expected to be finished by the end of July. Station construction along the corridor stands at 40-50% completion. But track and stations are only part of the picture that determines when a passenger can actually board a train: signalling, officials caution, could take another four months - a dependency that will likely shape any realistic opening date more than track-laying itself.
The Butt Road section, long a sticking point, has largely been resolved as labour availability has improved. The viaduct linking Koyambedu to the corridor’s double-decker section - a structure passengers will pass over daily - is expected to be finished by the end of June. Nearby foundation work at the site of a relocated mosque is also nearing completion.
Similarly, in the underground stretch under Corridor - 4 (Yellow Line) the tunnelling between Power House and Panagal Park is complete. Track-laying and the architectural fit-out of Panagal Park station, however, have not begun yet, and that underground stretch is not scheduled for completion until March 2027 - a timeline that underscores how unevenly different parts of the corridor are advancing.
Between Porur and Vadapalani under the Yellow Line, civil works at six intermediate stations and at Power House station are expected to wrap up within two-and-a-half months. At Vadapalani, passengers will likely be funnelled through the skywalk connecting to the existing metro station as entry and exit works there continue.
