The Metro Rail track between Koyambedu and St. Thomas Mount stations has been laid for nine kilometres. An 11-km track has to be laid between the two stations.
“We have completed the track-laying up to Sidco station in Ekkaduthangal. Another two kilometres, and we will complete the stretch,” said an official of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL).
Officials inspected the track on a motor trolley on Friday. “Usually, we inspect a track by running motor trolley over it to check if the track is fit to carry a train. After this, we complete the electrical and signalling work,” said another official.
The laying of track on this stretch began nearly one-and-a-half years ago. Work on the remaining two kilometres will be completed in another two months, at the most, the official said.
Chennai Metro Rail, being built at a cost of Rs. 14,600 crore, will have two corridors — one that runs from Chennai Central to St. Thomas Mount and the other from Washermenpet to Chennai airport.
CMRL plans to conduct a trial run from Koyambedu to Alandur by March next year so this stretch can become operational by mid-2014.
The first train that arrived from Sao Paulo, Brazil, late in May, has been tested on the 800-metre test track in the depot at Koyambedu.
Soon after the track work along Koyambedu-St. Thomas Mount is completed, it will be tested on the elevated path. The trial run is expected to be done in March 2014.
