When Metro Rail’s Phase II network goes through Kathipara junction in Guindy in a few years, it will crisscross the existing Phase I network, and Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) is gearing up to begin the viaduct work on the stretch.
As part of the 116-km Phase II Project, CMRL will construct a corridor from Madhavaram to Sholinganallur via Kathipara junction (corridor 5). There are numerous challenges in undertaking the construction at the junction, since CMRL has to build without causing any safety issues to the airport’s flight path or train operations of the Metro Rail’s Phase I network.
According to CMRL officials, they have received permissions from the Commissioner of Railway Safety and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to build the viaduct at the arterial junction.
“Since there are towering pillars in the Phase II network and this area also happens to be in the air funnel zone, we have to be careful while building. We have received the clearance from the AAI, and construction activity has to be contained within the permissible height level,” an official said.
Since the Phase II viaduct will be positioned close to the Phase I viaduct at a few locations, CMRL has also received approval from the Commissioner of Railway Safety. “At these locations, work is only permitted from midnight to early morning, when the trains are not run, in order to ensure that there is no safety hazard for the passengers,” another source said.
When this stretch of the Phase II network is completed and becomes operational, anyone travelling from areas such as Madhavaram, Anna Nagar, and Villivakkam, will have easy access to the city’s southern suburbs including Madipakkam, Kilkattalai, Medavakkam, and Sholinganallur.
In the Phase II network, the construction of corridor 4 (Light House to Poonamallee) and corridor 3 (Madhavaram to SIPCOT via Thirumayilai) are also progressing smoothly.
Published - April 23, 2024 01:00 am IST
