CMRL to Expedite Airport-Kilambakkam and Poonamallee-Parandur Metro Routes

Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) is giving top priority to the development of the Airport-Kilambakkam and Poonamallee-Parandur metro projects. While the Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for both projects are nearly complete, CMRL needs to hold consultations with the Highways Department and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to finalize certain aspects of the plans. Once these discussions are concluded, the reports will be forwarded to the State government for approval.

The 15.3 km Airport-Kilambakkam project has faced delays over the past few years. Although the DPR was initially submitted two years ago, it was recently requested that the report be revised. The updated reports are now nearly ready for submission. In a recent high-level meeting, officials from both the State and Central governments discussed the metro projects planned for Tamil Nadu. They recognized the severe traffic congestion in South Chennai and emphasized the need for better connectivity to the Kilambakkam Bus Terminus. Additionally, with the State focusing on the Parandur Second Airport project, it was agreed that a metro link would be critical to connect the two major infrastructure projects.

The reason for revising the DPR for the Airport-Kilambakkam route stems from an earlier plan to build an elevated corridor along the stretch. However, when there was little progress on this plan, CMRL submitted the original report. Recently, they were asked to redesign the project so that the metro viaduct and the elevated corridor would share common pillars. The elevated corridor, being developed by the State Highways Department, will run from the Airport to Tambaram, and discussions are currently underway to have the metro train operate on the second level while the elevated flyover runs on the first level. Efforts are also being made to integrate the metro with the flyovers in Tambaram, Pallavaram, and Perungalathur.

An NHAI official mentioned that their approval may not be needed for the Airport-Kilambakkam project, as the construction does not involve land under their jurisdiction. The metro alignment is planned to run along the Grand Southern Trunk (GST) Road, with a station planned at Vandalur.

For the Poonamallee-Parandur project, which spans 43.63 km, CMRL also needs to coordinate with the Highways Department and NHAI. NHAI is planning to build an elevated corridor between Poonamallee and Sriperumbudur, and the designs for both projects will be integrated.