TN unveils 15-km long light metro transit system

The TN government is planning to build a 15-km metro light transit system for which the Chennai Metro Rail Limited has been tasked with the job of preparing a DPR. The state governor Banwarilal Purohit said that the project will address the increasing traffic congestion on the Tambaram-Velachery corridor. The line will come up along Velachery Main Road, which was one of the routes proposed to be linked by a monorail between Velachery and Vandalur via Madipakkam, Pallikaranai, Medavakkam, Selaiyur and Tambaram areas. These localities are fast developing as major commercial and residential hubs. Once completed, commuters can reach Tambaram to travel to Guduvanchery and beyond. The governor informed that the state has decided to extend the metro rail corridor by 15.3km from Chennai Airport to Kilambakkam, where a new mofussil bus stand is coming up. The three-corridor 118.9km phase-2 project is estimated to cost ₹69,180 crore, for which JICA has agreed to fund 52.01km and the first tranche of the loan agreement has been signed. Multilateral assistance from Asian Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the New Development Bank will be given for the remaining stretches.