7/29/2019 Chennai Metro Rail update

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CHENNAICENTRAL

ALANDUR

ASHOK NAGAR/KK NAGAR

ARUMBAKKAM

CMBT

SIDCO

CHENNAI AIRPORT

ST. THOMASMOUNT

UNDER GROUND- 2015

ELEVATED- 2nd half of 2014

CORRIDOR I

UNDER GROUND- 2015

ELEVATED- 1st quarter of 2014

CORRIDOR II

FUTURE under progressRails from France, coaches from Brazil, tunnelling expertise from China, labour from eastern

India all to give Chennai a world-class public transport system. MEERA SRINIVASAN takes abirds-eye view of the citys metro rail network, expected to be operational by 2014

Metro Rail:KNOW MORE

It is essentially a rapid transit, underground/

elevated/ subway system that seeks to ease

commute and save travel time in urban areas

battling congestion. Delhi Metro, operational in

the capital, is one of the most recent attempts in

the country. The first ever Metro in India came

up in Kolkata in 1984.

Why metro rail for Chennai?

Rapid expansion of the city and growing traffic volumehas resulted in large-scale congestion in the city.Metro Rail seeks to provide commuters a fast,reliable, convenient, efficient, modern, economicaland integrated mode of public transport.

What is the estimated cost of the

project? Who funds it?The estimated cost is Rs. 14,600 crore, includingescalation, Central taxes and interest during theperiod of construction, but excluding State taxes andvalue of vacant state government land. The Centraland State governments, together, are expected tocontribute about 41% of the total cost. The rest willbe met by a loan granted by Japan InternationalCooperation Agency.

What are the corridors in Phase-1 of

the Chennai metro rail project?

Two corridors with a combined length of 45 km Corridor I (23.1 km) will run from Washermenpet toairport via Anna Salai and Corridor II (22 km) will runfrom Chennai Central to St. Thomas Mount viaKoyambedu. The portions from Washermenpet toSaidapet on Anna Salai (Corridor I) and ChennaiCentral to Thirumangalam (Corridor II) will beunderground.

Decongesting arterial roads

The two corridors were decided upon after detailedstudy of traffic density on Chennai roads. They coverthree arterial roads in the city Anna Salai, EVRPeriyar Salai and Jawaharlal Nehru Salai.

What does age have to do withlabour? I can eat only as long as I

find work to do. I have comeall the way fromBhabua in Kaimur

district (Bihar) toearn a livelihood

- Siparsan Ram, 60

From theWORK SITE

I have come from Bihar,leaving behind my wife andtoddler son. Its reallyhard, but this is livelihood.They say, a big Metro Railnetwork is coming up here.Bihar does not have MetroRail now, but it will bereally nice if it comes upthere, too

- Alok Kumar, 27

The stretch along this station will have a three-pier design, with the Metroline being flanked by vehicular flyovers on either side. The elevated stretch(St. Thomas Mount-Koyambedu) on this corridor running for 24 km will belit at night. Vadapalani and Arumbakkam are the two stations along the

elevated corridor that will be at ground level. Vadapalani station will comeup on a built-up area of about 10,000 sq. m.

STATUS:Station foundation work on; track-laying in progress

The terminal point where, apart from a station, the

Metro Rail depot is also coming up. At the 63-acredepot, space has been earmarked for parking coachesafter the day's operations. A 6-floor admin building,nearly complete now, will house the main controlroom from where the entire 45-km stretch of Metro

Rail can be monitored.This is the farthest the Metro line goes in the north of Chennai. This is an undergroundstation and two Tunnel Boring Machines sit about 17 m below the ground here. The

TBMs will cover about 10 m of the tunnel every day.

STATUS: Station work in progress; tunneling has begun

WASHERMENPETKOYAMBEDU

VADAPALANI

We zoom in on four crucial points on the Metro Rail

network where work is at different stages of completion

INSIDE THE METRO

STATUS: 80% of station built;

track-laying to begin soon

STATUS:Station structurecomplete; track-laying in progress

The two corridors of the Metro line will converge here. Passen-gers can switch from one route to the other at the two-layeredstation which spans an area of 150 m X 25 m. Trains from

Washermenpet, heading southward via Anna Salai, will halt atlevel one, and those from Koyambedu to St. Thomas Mount, willstop at level two, at a height of nearly 20 m above the ground.

EB cable Telephone line

1.5m 0.5m to1.5m 1m to2 m 1m to4m

8m

17m

Water pipe(up to 250 mm

diameter)

(Bigger pipescan go deeper) Drainage line

CONCOURSE

LEVEL

METRO

LINE

CIVIC UTILITIES (Measurements not to scale)UNDERGROUNDCROSS-SECTION

http://thne.ws/koyambedu-depotKOYAMBEDU DEPOT WALK THROUGH

http://thne.ws/koyambedu-stationKOYAMBEDU STATION WALK THROUGH

V I D E O S

PHOTOS: R. RAGUILLUSTRATION: SATWIK GADE

INFOGRAPHIC: PRATHAP RAVISHANKAR

DEADLINE

MANNADI

HIGH COURT

GOVERNMENT ESTATE

LIC

THOUSAND LIGHTS

GEMINI

TEYNAMPET

CHAMIERS ROAD

THIRUMANGALAM

ANNA NAGAR

TOWER

ANNA NAGAR

EAST

SHENOY

NAGAR

PACHAIYAPPAS

COLLEGE

KILPAUK MEDICAL

COLLEGE

NEHRU PARK EGMORE

OTA

MEENAMBAKKAM

LITTLE MOUNT

GUINDY

SAIDAPET