Chennai Metro dream comes true, Jayalalithaa to inaugurate Rs 14,600 crore project today

Chennai: The dream of Chennaiites to commute in a modern metro rail is due to come true from Monday. The Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa will inaugurate the Rs 14,600 crore project after 12 noon. The first train will start from Alandur station to run to Koyambedu moments after Jayalalithaa presses the button from the Secretariat.

The inauguration is expected to take place any minute after noon. It will be a fully paid service from day one, contrary to some media reports that suggested free rides for a while for people to get acclimatised to the metro system.

“Free rides were never under consideration. Some officer suggested it during a meeting, but it was not taken seriously,” CMRL sources told Deccan Chronicle, adding that the service will be open to the public after a few trips.

The inaugural trip from Alandur to Koyambedu may mostly be an “empty run” with only a handful of CMRL officials on board. The subsequent trip would be for journalists and other invitees. Subsequently, an announcement will be made and tickets issued for the traveling public. From afternoon, train services will run till 10 pm on the inaugural day. From Tuesday, the service will start at 6 am and end at 10 pm.

The operating hours will in course of time be extended to the originally planned schedule of 5 am to midnight. Initially, five or six trains will be put on the route (nine trains are readily available for commercial run after successfully going through the mandatory tests) and the frequency will be maintained at 10-12 minutes. The trains will stop for 30 seconds at each station.

“If need be, the stoppage time will be increased by a few seconds at the stations based on the patronage. This will be done in coordination between the operational control center in Koyambedu and the train operator. Though the stations, platforms and trains will be completely monitored from the Operational Control Center, the fully automatic train will actually be operated manually with most of the controls lying with the operator for a while,” CMRL sources added.

As regards ticketing, CMRL has opened two counters and installed two automatic ticket vending machines (ATVMs) in all seven stations. SMART cards will also be issued on payment of a one-time fee at the counter on Monday. Cards can be recharged at the ATVMs from Monday afternoon. The minimum fare will most likely be Rs10 and maximum fare may go up to Rs40. Smart cards are understood to cost Rs100.