State to CMRL: Expedite Chennai Metro project

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government has urged the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) management to expedite its works in the city and complete them at the earliest, and thereby ensure commuting is made easy for the public.

State Industries Minister M. C. Sampath requested CMRL managing director Pankaj Kumar Bansal to complete works from Nehru Park to Central and from Saidapet to AG-DMS soon. The minister, who had recently visited the underground sites of the CMRL and inspected the work, had expressed satisfaction over the progress of the work, and wanted passenger services on the routes to begin soon.

The stations between AG-DMK and Saidapet are getting finishing touches particularly at the entry or exit point, official said. 

CMRL is planning to commence trial run on Anna Salai line this week, said sources.

The commissioner of Metro Rail Safety is likely to be invited for inspection in March.

 At present, CMRL is operating services in two routes in the city - Nehru Park to Airport and Little Mount to Airport. The first trial run between Nehru Park and Chennai Central covering a distance of 2.7 km was conducted on Jan.26. The first train was flagged off in 2015 by the then Chief Minister J. Jayalaltihaa.

 According to sources, the Chennai Metro Rail Limited is likely sign a loan agreement with JICA, for the phase II project and the sum is likely to be higher than the funding for the first project. 

JICA had funded phase I project for about Rs 14,600 crore. The CMRL is likely to sign an agreement with JICA once the Centre gives the nod.