CHENNAI: The first phase of the much-anticipated Chennai Metro Rail was launched on Monday with Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa flagging off the services on the Koyambedu-Alandur sector, stretching 10.15 km on the elevated corridor. She also inaugurated seven metro rail stations at Koyambedu, CMBT, Arumbakkam, Vadapalani, Ashok Nagar, Ekkattuthangal and Alandur.
Jayalalithaa flagged off the trial run of the first coach brought from Brazil on November 6, 2013, besides inaugurating 110/33 kV high voltage sub power station, a press release here said. The project would cover two routes — 23.085 km stretch from Washermenpet to Chennai Airport and 21.96 km stretch from Chennai Central to St Thomas Mount.
The total cost of the project is Rs. 14,600 crore. The Central government provides 15 per cent of the project cost as share capital and five per cent as loans, while the State gives 15 per cent as share capital and 5.78 per cent as loans. The remaining 59.22 per cent has been sourced as loan from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The State has released its entire share of funds. A total amount of Rs. 1,143.31 crore has been spent for the project from 2007-2008 to 2010-2011 and Rs. 9,608.63 crore in the last four years. Till date, Rs. 10,751.94 crore has been spent for the project.
The Union government has appointed the Metro Railway Protection Commissioner, Bangalore as the commissioner for Chennai Metro Rail as per the Metro Railway (Operations and Maintenance) Act, 2002, section 7. He has sent his report to the Centre on safety aspects of the service after a test, as per the Act.State Finance and PWD Minister O Panneerselvam, State Electricity Minister ‘Natham’ R Viswanathan, State Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development Minister R Vaithilingam, State Highways Minister ‘Edapaddi’ K Palanisamy, State Higher Education Minister Palaniappan, State Industries Minister Thangamani, besides officials of JICA were present.
Smart card users Pay Just RS 9 on day 1
While the general grouse was that the fares were too high — Rs. 40 for a ride between Alandur to Koyambedu — passengers who purchased a smart card for Rs. 100 (RS 50 for the card and RS 50 balance) were in for a pleasant surprise, as the same ride cost them only Rs. 9. However, customer care confirmed that this was only an inaugural offer and was valid only on the first day.
Facilities Not On track
Infrastructure facilities are yet to develop fully — parking space, for instance, is a problem. There is no continuous escalator to reach the platform from the ticketing area. Swanky, metallic and largely clean stations and platforms notwithstanding, two things stood out — there were no restrooms open for public use in intermediate stations and no drinking water.