By rosebell
As part of the ongoing Phase-2 works, starting tunneling between Kolathur and Villivakkam within two weeks is a plan of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL).
The responsibility of developing and operating the metro rail system in Chennai is up to CMRL, which is an entity jointly owned by the Government of India and the state government of Tamil Nadu.
The proposal for the Phase-2 expansion of the Chennai Metro Rail Project, with three new corridors was approved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the previous year.
Stretching from Madhavaram to SIPCOT, the Corridor 3 will be 45.8km and comprises 50 stations.
Including 30 stations, Corridor 4 is due to cover 26.1km from Lighthouse to Poonamalle Bypass, whereas Corridor 5 will extend 47km between Madhavaram and Sholinganallur with 48 stations.
The INR632.46bn ($7.3bn) Phase 2 expansion is anticipated to add 118.9km of new lines and 128 new stations to the network.
While the scheduled date for completing and operating this project is 2027, following that the city of Chennai is expected to have a total Metro Rail network of 173km.
Reported by The Hindu, Corridor 5 starts as an elevated stretch from Madhavaram up to Retteri, and goes underground at Kolathur Junction and continues till Villivakkam MTH Road.
The only element of this corridor is the underground stretch between Kolathur and Villivakkam and works in this section have been delayed for more than a year, while the 5km underground segment has stations at Kolathur Junction, Srinivasa Nagar, Villivakkam Metro, Villivakkam Bus Terminus and Villivakkam MTH Road.
The date of commencing tunneling works at Kolathur, the where the tunnel boring machine (TBM) Kurinji is already in place, will be this month, as the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) officials stated.
According to the publication quoted a CMRL official: “The preparatory work is underway for the launch. The total distance between Kolathur and Nathamuni is nearly 5km but, as is always done, the tunnelling will be carried out in short stretches. First, the TBM will be lowered at a shaft created in Kolathur and bore towards the Kolathur Metro Rail station, a distance of 500m. Subsequently, it will be relaunched from the Kolathur station in about four months, and it will drill towards Srinivasa Nagar.”
