CMRL floats tender for work on 'monorail stretch'

CHENNAI: As the lockdown eases in phases, work to build the 118.9km phase-2 metro corridors has picked up. CMRL has floated tenders for an 8km elevated line between Porur Junction and Poonamallee bypass, instead of an earlier proposed monorail project. The stretch is part of the 26km corridor-4 from Light House to Poonamallee Bypass, which will be built for an estimated Rs 2,671 crore funded Asian by Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Phase-2 will have 118.9km across three corridors with 128 stations, to be built at a cost of Rs 69,000crore. Construction for a 52km stretch of the phase is likely to begin before the year-end and is to be ready by 2024-25.


The tender calls for a company that can build the elevated corridor with nine stations within three years. The stations are Chennai bypass crossing, Ramachandra Hospital, Iyyappanthangal bus depot, Kattupakkam, Kumanan Chavadi, Karayan Chavadi, Mullai Thottam, Poonamallee Bus terminus and Poonamallee bypass as well as the approach to the depot to come up at Poonamallee.

“When we float tenders, companies may want to visit the site before they participate and that is difficult given the situation. We are getting all the paperwork ready, so we will begin to float them as the situation improves,” a Cmrl official said.

Corridor 4 from Light House to Poonamallee cuts across the core part of the city linking several localities with the developing outskirts. Mylapore, Nandanam, T Nagar, Kodambakkam and Vadapalani will be connected to the developing IT hub in Porur and places such as Iyyappanthangal, Kattupakkam and Poonamallee, which are poorly connected now.

The Porur-Poonamallee stretch was earlier part of the monorail project. As of 2012, monorail was to connect Kathipara to Poonamallee — linking Porur, SRMC Hospital, Iyyappanthangal, Kattupakkam, Kumananchavadi and Karayanchavadi in a ‘Y’ shaped alignment including an arm from Porur to Vadapalani and Velachery to Vandalur.

Cmrl conducted a study on passenger flow that revealed high traffic density between Porur and Poonamallee and corridor-4 was extended from Light House to Poonamallee bypass, instead of the original Koyambedu. In July, Cmrl floated a tender for an eightkm line from Power House in Kodambakkam to Porur Junction.