Chennai Metro | CMRL to link IT parks in phase-II metro corridor

Chennai: For the thousands of techies in the city, commuting across busy stretches to reach the various IT parks could become easier. Chennai Metro Rail Limited will in Phase 2 link some of the major IT parks on Old Mahabalipuram Road and Manapakkam with the rest of the city through metro stations. The phase will cover a distance of 108.4km with 104 stations across three corridors. If everything goes as planned, construction for the phase will begin in 2018 and is expected to be ready in 10 years.

"The plan to build stations close to IT companies and parks is to encourage techies to use metro trains regularly. This will take many four-wheelers and two-wheelers off the roads and reduce the road traffic to a great extent," a metro rail official said. "We are also planning to extend beyond Siruseri in the next phase."

It will include 20km stretch of the IT corridor along Rajiv Gandhi Salai or Old Mahabalipuram Road, which will be connected through 22 elevated metro stations from Tidel Park all the way up to SIPCOT in Siruseri. The elevated line will be part of the 46.1-km corridor three of the phase which will connect the IT corridor with far-flung areas of North Chennai up to Madhavaram Milk Colony. The line is expected to be ready for operation in five years. There are close to 70 major IT parks in the city and many of them are located along OMR. Many other major IT/ITES companies, national research laboratories, technical and educational institutions are also located along the stretch.

In corridor 5, the underground stations at Sathya Nagar and Ramapuram bus stop are expected to connect the DLF IT Park that houses some of the biggest IT companies. The two stations are part of a 45.2-km-long corridor from Madhavaram Milk Colony to Sholinganallur. The stations will link several localities in the northwest of the city, including Kolathur, Anna Nagar, Maduravoyal and Valsarvakkam, and neighbourhoods such as Madipakkam, Kovilambakkam, Medavakkam and Perumbakkam in the southwest.

Metro rail officials said corridor 5 would be an orbital line, as it would connect all the arterial roads through phase 2 lines and the 45-km two-corridor Phase 1 through stations like Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT), Thirumangalam and St Thomas Mount, which is likely to be common to both the phases. Phase 1 of the project will link all major railway stations and bus terminuses in the city once it becomes fully operational.