The Phase II project of Chennai Metro Rail that predominantly had most of the stretches to be underground has undergone changes, and major portions will now be elevated.
Of the 118.9 km of Phase II project covering three stretches — Madhavaram to Shollinganallur, Light House to Poonamallee and Madhavaram to SIPCOT — 76.3 km will be elevated and just 42.6 km will be underground.
In the corridor from Madhavaram to SIPCOT, Madhavaram to Taramani Road junction will be underground and beyond that point, it will turn into an elevated stretch till SIPCOT. The second stretch — Light House to Poonamallee — will be partially underground and elevated; Light House to Meenakshi College will be built as an underground stretch and after that point, the remaining stations till Poonamallee will be elevated. Then, Madhavaram to Shollinganallur too will be predominantly elevated; Madhavaram to Retteri junction will be an elevated stretch and from Kolathur junction till Nadhamuni will be underground and again from Anna Nagar depot till Shollinganallur it will run as an elevated stretch.
This change of several underground stations into elevated ones has, according to officials, drastically cut down the cost of Chennai Metro Rail’s Phase II project. What was earlier to cost Chennai Metro Rail about ₹80,000 crore for the Phase II project has now come down to ₹69,100 crore, sources said. “We have also cut down the size of the stations across the entire Phase II project. We have not compromised on the needs of commuters; we calculated and saw it was possible to build compact stations with all facilities,” another official said.
COMMents
SHARE