The much-awaited Chennai Metro Rail faces yet another delay as a mandatory safety audit for the 10-km stretch between Koyambedu and Alandur has been deferred to April, according to officials.
Earlier, officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) had said the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) might begin the inspection on March 20 and continue with it for a week. Now, it has been postponed to April, according to officials.
The certificate of approval from CMRS is a statutory requirement to begin commercial operations.
“They have sought some queries in the documents. So, the CMRS officials may come for inspection by mid or end-April,” an official of CMRL said. Within about two weeks of the inspection, the officials will issue a certificate of approval for beginning operations. The State government has to give a date for inauguration of the service between Koyambedu and Alandur.
Sometime back, the trains of Metro Rail had received the mandatory clearance from the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO). So far, the Chennai Metro Rail has received 21 trains for operations. But for the services between Koyambedu and Alandur, ten of them will be used. Of the 42 trains for Chennai Metro Rail, nine have been manufactured in Sao Paolo, Brazil and the remaining 33 from Sri City near Chennai.
The Chennai Metro Rail, built at a cost of Rs. 14,000 crore, was originally to be commissioned in October 2014. Due to various delays, it was rescheduled to March 2015. Now, it is not clear when the first service between Koyambedu and Alandur will be open to public.
