Officials of Chennai Metro Rail (CMRL) have decided to call for tenders for the design of Metro stations in the phase-1 extension segment from Washermanpet to Wimco Nagar. Approval for this phase is, incidentally, still pending with the Centre.
The alignment has been finalised, with a new station added between Washermanpet and Korukkupet for the convenience of passengers. This station will be located underground, near Sir Theagaraya College in Old Washermanpet, according to officials.
The nine-kilometre stretch will run partly underground from Washermanpet to Korukkupet and then continue as an elevated one till Wimco Nagar, a CMRL official said.
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“Since the approval has been delayed, we want to go ahead with the other work associated with the project. If we call for tenders now, it will take at least 6-7 months for the design to be finalised. So, if we continue to wait, it may cause further delay,” he said.
Though the State government had given a nod for the Rs. 3,000-crore project in October 2010 after the soil tests were conducted, there has been no approval forthcoming from the Centre as yet. In July 2014, the Centre had sought additional information from CMRL but there has been no communication from them since then.