Chennai: Fliers’ long wait to take world-class metro rail to Chennai airport will be a reality in two weeks’ time. The 9-km long Little Mount-Chennai airport metro corridor has been declared fit for commercial operations by the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) who carried out the mandatory safety inspection last week.
CMRS (Southern Region) Sudharshan Naik, who carried out a two-day long inspection of the elevated corridor last week, has given his green signal for the start of passenger train operations on the line. With the approval of CMRS coming in as expected, the Chennai Metro Rail Corporation can launch the operations, even tomorrow, if it wishes.
The green signal is the last in the slew of approvals needed to throw open the line for public use. Top sources told Deccan Chronicle that CMRL has conveyed to Tamil Nadu and Union Governments about the approval and proposed likely dates for the inauguration. Since Chennai metro is a joint venture of both governments, a date that will be convenient to Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa and Union urban development minister M. Venkaiah Naidu would be decided.
The sources also said the metro rail could be inaugurated anytime during the third week of August. The nine-km corridor is part of the airport-Washermenpet corridor which is to be extended to Tiruvottriyur, for which foundation stone was laid a fortnight back. As the 14-km Koyambedu to Alandur line is already operational, this nine- km stretch will connect commuters from CMBT to Chennai airport.
