Residents of the city in the northern areas like Madhavaram, Manjambakkam and Retteri can travel by Metro Rail in three years, as the stretch from Madhavaram to Retteri junction will be opened for commuters by 2026.
According to officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), they have once again advanced the deadline for this 11-km stretch from Madhavaram to Retteri and plan to operate the train services before the end of 2026.
A few years back, when the planning work was in progress for the Phase II project, covering a length of 118.9 km, CMRL had identified 52 km as the priority corridor, which would be put into operation first. The priority corridor had two stretches—Madhavaram to CMBT and Madhavaram to Sholinganallur. But due to various issues, the focus changed, and CMRL later said that Poonamallee to Power House would witness the running of train services first in the phase II project. The stretch from Madhavaram to Retteri forms a part of the priority corridor and falls under the Madhavaram to CMBT line.
Madhavaram Depot Metro, Assisi Nagar, Manjambakkam, Velmurugan Nagar, Madhavaram Bus Terminus, Shastri Nagar, and Retteri junction are the locations where stations will be built for this stretch. While Madhavaram Depot Metro will be a shallow underground station, the stretch will climb up after this point, and the rest of the line will be elevated upto Retteri junction.
“At present, even though we are concentrating to complete the Poonamallee to Porur stretch by 2025 and the Porur to Power House stretch the next year, simultaneously we have also increased the pace of work between Madhavaram and Retteri junction and want to open it before the end of 2026. So far, 65 piers have been constructed, and work is progressing at a good speed,” an official said.
The construction work at Madhavaram depot—where trains will be stationed and maintenance will occur—is also in progress and will be ready for trial run and operations, another official said. “Another reason for change of plans to open this stretch after Poonamallee to Power House is, because depot will be ready by then. Operations can begin in a stretch only if the closest depot for that line is completed,” he added.
