Chennai Metro Rail Project From Sholinganallur To SIPCOT To Resume Soon

The Chennai Metro Rail (CMRL) is all set to restart the construction work from Sholinganallur to Siruseri along a part of Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR), where the construction work has been disrupted over the past few months.

The phase II project, which will run over 116 km of the city, also includes the entire IT Expressway in corridor 3.

When the project was first announced and work was awarded for different sections of the OMR, commuters who had been dealing with terrible traffic congestion for years were ecstatic. Though Chennai Metro Rail (CMRL) gave the contract to RVNL in April 2023 to build nine stations along the 10-kilometer stretch from Sholinganallur to SIPCOT, issues arose and construction work was halted.

As per the CMRL officials, though the contractor initiated the work last year, the agency or subcontractor appointed by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) to carry out construction work failed to execute the tasks. As a result, the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) had terminated the contract with the agency and identified a new company to execute the pending work. “The construction will begin shortly and we are hoping to finish this stretch on time,” an official stated, reported The Hindu.

Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu recently presented the state budget for the fiscal year 2024-2025 in the Assembly stating that the state government has decided to allocate Rs 12,000 crore for the second phase of the Chennai Metro rail project in 2024.

Furthermore, commuters who were disappointed over the pace of construction work often shared their concerns on social media platforms, tagging CMRL. One of the commuters took to X and said, “Please expedite the construction work of Sholinganallur to Siruseri stretch. Work is happening at a snail’s pace and no progress in the last one year except barricades added on Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) road. Please give utmost importance to this stretch and construct a small metro depot inside SIPCOT.”

“Please share the status of Sholinganallur to SIPCOT construction. No work at all for the past few months. In fact, the temp lights are switched off in some stretches, it’s pitch dark,” another commuter posted.

This line begins at Madhavaram and travels through several areas, including Ayanavaram, Adyar, Chetpet, Indira Nagar, Moolakadai, Navalar, Perambur, Purasawalkam, Perungudi, Royapettah, Sterling Road, Sholinganallur, Semmancheri, Taramani, Thirumayilai, Thiruvanmiyur, Thoraipakkam, before culminating at SIPCOT after covering a distance of 45.4 kilometers. The other corridors that will be built as part of this massive phase II project are Madhavaram to Sholinganallur via Porur and Poonamallee to Light House via Nandanam.