Project report ready for doubling of Chengai-Arakkonam railway corridor
CHENNAI: The draft detailed project report (DPR) for doubling the Chengalpattu-Arakkonam railway corridor, pegged at Rs 1,538.07 crore, has been prepared and is now under review, even as the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) convenes a stakeholder meeting this month to align agencies on the project’s next steps.
The 73.5km stretch, currently running at more than 104% of its designed capacity, is a bottleneck in Tamil Nadu’s rail network. Its expansion is central to a planned 192 km circular suburban grid that could transform commuting and freight flows across Chennai.
Starting at Chennai Beach, the loop will run south through Tambaram and Chengalpattu, sweep northwest to Arakkonam and Ranipet, before turning northeast through Avadi back to the city centre.
The railway board sanctioned the final location survey in October 2023 and awarded it to SA Infrastructure Consultants Pvt Ltd of Noida. “Indian Railways is working on the DPR, which is in the draft stage, and they have sought the help of CUMTA to hold a stakeholder meeting,” a CUMTA official told TNIE.
The official said the doubling will expand capacity from 13 trains daily on a single line to around 40, easing delays for passengers while opening additional slots for long-haul freight.
The project is also being designed to integrate it with 23 planned multimodal hubs, including St Thomas Mount, Guindy, and Chennai Central.
The corridor’s freight role is equally pivotal. Walajabad is to be upgraded with an 800m-long goods paving for automotive rakes, while Kancheepuram will receive dual paving for bulk commodities such as cement, steel and fertilisers.
Freight growth on the corridor has already been robust. In 2024-25, it handled 1.56 million tonnes across 803 trains, up 7.1% year-on-year. Walajabad goods shed, India’s largest automotive loading hub, dispatched 392 rakes annually-equivalent to 0.325 million tonnes, generating Rs 32.4 crore through premium rates.