Chennai Metro to Expand Network with Two Key Extensions: Tambaram–Velachery and Light House–High Court

Two coordinated metro line extensions by the CMRL (Chennai Metro Rail Limited) are aimed at improving connectivity and making commuting easy, thus ensuring a big step forward in public transport for the city of Chennai.

The first of these projects involves the extension stretching from the Light House Metro to the High Court Metro along Corridor 4, which is around 7 km long. This stretch of the metro, which passes through iconic parts of the city like Marina Beach and the Secretariat, should greatly benefit daily commuters and tourists alike. Connecting the historic heart of the city directly along the metro network, it will also be one of the efforts to reduce traffic along the beach road and provide a pleasant travel experience.

The second project, and larger of the two, will open a 21 km corridor from Tambaram to Velachery, traversing Guindy. This new line will connect suburban areas like Medavakkam, Pallikaranai, and Tambaram, that are fast developing, with the Guindy Metro Station of the existing Corridor 1. This integration of the mentioned areas serves to bridge the gap between suburban and urban domains by giving an alternative mode of transportation better than that by way of car/bus.

With CMRL awarding the consultancy contracts to M/s Systra MVA Consulting India Pvt Ltd for preparing Detailed Project Reports (DPRs), both of these projects have come closer to realization. The value of the DPR for Light House-High Court has been set at ₹38.2 lakh, and for Tambaram-Velachery, it puts a cost of ₹96.19 lakh. The period allotted to Systra MVA for the preparation of these reports is 120 days.

These contracts were signed in the presence of M.A. Siddique, IAS, Managing Director, CMRL, Project Director T. Archunan, and Parveen Kumar, Senior Vice President, Systra MVA, together with other senior officials from both organizations.

The DPRs would investigate route alignments, passenger demand forecasting, possibilities for multimodal integration, and technical feasibility. CMRL highlighted that these studies will form a basis for taking informed decisions and for ensuring project viability and preparedness for the future.

Chennai is rapidly getting populated and traffic is still on the rise, so these expansions form part of CMRL’s vision to provide a long-term, sustainable, high-capacity metro system that will be the pulse of the city, so that it can reduce its dependence on private vehicles.