If metro rail's plans go as
per schedule, a commuter will be able to board a metro rail train at the
airport and reach Koyambedu and Egmore railway station in less than 40 minutes
by the end of next year. A major portion of the metro rail network will take
shape then as just 10 km of tunnels of the 36 km underground corridor remain to
be completed. The Tirumangalam to Egmore underground line via Shenoy Nagar and
the Airport-Alandur-Little Mount line will be ready for operation.
Metro rail completed 4.6 km of
tunnels between Shenoy Nagar and Tirumangalam ramp when a boring machine broke
through a one-metre thick concrete wall and burst into the work site near Koyambedu.
This will be the first underground line to be opened for service. It will connect
to the elevated Koyambedu - Alandur stretch which is going to be commissioned
by March 2015.
“We will complete tunnels and
stations from Shenoy Nagar to Egmore by end of the year and services can be
operated in a month or so after the construction is completed. Services can be
started immediately on underground section because trains need not be tested
for more than a year like it is being done now before start of passenger
services on Koyambedu-Alandur line. A shorter trial run is planned soon after
tunnels are completed along the stretch by June” said R Ramanathan, director, construction,
Chennai Metro Rail. More than 90% of the boring between Shenoy Nagar and Egmore,
which is part of the Central Koyambedu-St Thomas Mount corridor called the
Green Line, is completed.
However, boring of tunnels is
not easy. It took close to two years to complete the 4.6 km stretch between
Shenoy Nagar and Tirumangalam. “Tunnelling took time on the stretch as the
machines had to be taken out and dragged the whole length of the stations at
Anna Nagar East, Anna
Nagar Tower
He also said that under
ground stations would not take much time because top level and concourse level
where commuters buy tickets were completed at most of the stations. “The
platform level can be completed at most of the stations by June. This work
could not complete because tunnels were being bored. Track laying will start in
the tunnels,“ he added.
Metro rail has started to
look ahead as a huge portion of the underground work is being completed. “Detailed
project reports are being prepared for the three new lines which has been
sanctioned by the state government under the second phase. Ideally, the city
should have had 350 km of metro rail lines so that all parts of the city could
be connected” said Ramanathan.
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