Chennai Metro Corridor 5 Extended to St. Thomas Mount to Ease Transfers

The metro network of Chennai received a significant boost as the length of Corridor 5 was extended by 1.25 km from Alandur to St. Thomas Mount to remove the transferring between trains during journey and comfort of commuters.

The extension will consist of an elevated viaduct built parallel with the existing line along which two up and two down tracks will be provided. This would then allow for seamless train movement between Corridor 5 (Madhavaram through Sholinganallur) and Corridor 2 (St. Thomas Mount through Chennai Central), thus making St. Thomas Mount an important interchange.

Currently, a person traveling north-south along Madhavaram to Madipakkam, or beyond to Medavakkam or Sholinganallur, runs the risk of changing trains at Alandur. So, this new link will allow cross-corridor travel and greatly improve operational efficiency and passenger comfort.
To facilitate the construction, CMRL is acquiring additional land around Railway Station Road and is set to demolish parts of the existing infrastructure. Adjustments will also be made to existing curves along the route to accommodate the new viaduct.

T. Archunan, Director (Projects), CMRL, said, “This extension makes St. Thomas Mount a major southern hub, on par with Alandur.” The extension will also bring a new building and improved amenities for passengers to the station.

For this importance is added, as St. Thomas Mount is also proposed to be connected with the long-awaited MRTS extension from Velachery for enhanced multimodal connectivity to the south of the city.

This strategic expansion falls under the larger mission of CMRL to promote urban mobility by improving interchange points to reduce travel time and has been well accepted by daily commuters and urban transport planners.