Chennai Metro Rail Limited has commenced the expansion of Chennai city’s metro rail network as part of Phase II. This is after the successful completion of Phase I and Phase I Extension Corridors in stages since June 2015 and the growing ridership in Corridors 1 and 2.
CMRL has now ventured into extensive infrastructure development in the city comprising three more corridors of metro rail for a total length of 118.9 km being funded by several multi-national funding agencies, including the Asian Development Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency, New Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank,
Corridor 5 work begins at Madhavaram Milk Colony and connects through Koyambedu, Porur, Alandur, and other residential/commercial developments of the city to Shollinganallur. It has a total length of 47 km, five underground stations, and 39 elevated stations.
Four TBMs, each named after distinct Tamil landscapes (Kurinji, Mullai, Marutham, and Neithal), will be deployed for Corridor 5.
TBM Kurinji, the first to be launched on Wednesday, will bore a 246-meter tunnel from Kolathur Ramp towards Kolathur Station (upline) and is expected to reach in June 2025. It will then be retrieved and relaunched from the south shaft to the tunnel towards Srinivasa Nagar (1.06 kms).
The second TBM, Mullai, is expected to arrive by the end of March 2025 and will begin tunnelling adjacent to Villivakkam Railway Station towards Villivakkam Bus Terminus (603 meters). The remaining two TBMs will be launched based on site readiness.
The 7.8 km underground tunnel section with twin tunnels of 3.9 km each of Corridor 5, including five underground stations from Kolathur Ramp to Nathamuni Ramp, is being executed through Tata Projects Limited and has to mobilize a total of 4 TBMs for the works, the release said.