Chennai Metro

The Chennai Metro is a rapid transit system serving the city of Chennai, India. Operated by Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) – a joint venture between the Government of India and the State Government of Tamil Nadu, the network consists of two lines and spans . The system uses standard gauge and has 41 underground and elevated stations. Once ongoing construction is completed, it will become the 2nd largest rapid transit system in India after the Delhi Metro.

Planning for the metro started in 2007-08 with construction commencing in February 2009. After testing in 2014, the first segment of the metro between the Alandur and Koyambedu stations on the Green Line began operations on 29 June 2015. On 21 September 2016, operations on the Blue Line commenced between Chennai Airport and Little Mount. The underground stretch from AG-DMS to Washermanpet of Blue Line opened on 10 February 2019, completing phase 1 of the Metro.

Three more lines covering a length of are under construction as part of the second phase. The Chennai Mass Rapid Transit System, operated by Indian Railways, is planned to be incorporated into the Chennai Metro. A light rail has been proposed to connect Tambaram station of the Chennai suburban rail network with Velachery on the MRTS. Further extensions are also planned for the three lines under construction.

Background

A single electrified line from Chennai Beach to Tambaram began operations in 1931 as part of the Chennai Suburban Railway. Two other rail lines were subsequently built, connecting Chennai Central to Gummidipoondi and Tiruvallur in 1979. In 1965, the Planning Commission evaluated the capacity of the transportation network in major metropolitan cities including Madras, and developed plans for further expansion of transportation amenities. As a result, an initial stretch of the Chennai Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) between Chennai Beach and Chepauk opened in 1995 – the first elevated rail line in India. The MRTS later extended to Thirumayilai in 1997, to Thiruvanmiyur in 2004, and to Velachery in 2007. In 2006, a modern metro rail system for Chennai was planned, to be modeled after the Delhi Metro.

Planning and construction

Progress on Construction

Phase I

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) was tasked to prepare a project report on the implementation of metro system in Chennai. The Government of Tamil Nadu approved the first phase of the project in November 2007. The first phase was planned with two lines covering with being underground. The first corridor would connect Washermanpet with Chennai International Airport extending for with being underground and the second corridor would connect St.Thomas Mount with Chennai Central extending for with being underground. In December 2007, the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) was established as a joint venture between the Governments of India and Tamil Nadu to execute the project. The Planning commission gave in-principle approval for the project in April 2008 with the final approval by the Union Cabinet of Government of India in January 2009. The estimated base cost of the first phase was of which 59% was loaned by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The Government of India contributed 15% of the cost with the Government of Tamil Nadu financed the remaining 21% of the project.

In February 2009, a contract was awarded for the construction of a long viaduct along the Inner Ring Road between Koyambedu and Ashok Nagar and construction started on 10 June. In March 2009, a US$30 million contract was awarded to a consortium of five companies headed by French company Egis for technical consultancy on the project. In August 2010, the contract for supplying rolling stock was awarded to Alstom for US$243 million. In January 2011, a joint venture between Larsen and Toubro (L&T) and Alstom was awarded the contract for design and construction of track works and a depot at Koyambedu for .

Contracts for the construction of underground sections of the first phase were awarded to Gammon India and Mosmetrostroy in February 2011. Subsequently in June, tenders for the elevated stations of the first phase were awarded to Consolidated Construction Consortium. The contract for supply of lifts and escalators was awarded to a joint venture of Johnson Lifts and SJEC Corporation. The contract for power supply and overhead electrification was awarded to Siemens for and contracts for automatic fare collection (AFC), tunnel ventilation and air conditioning were awarded to Nippon Signal, Emirates Trading Agency and Voltas, respectively. In July 2012, the first tunnel boring machine was launched and by October that year, eleven machines were commissioned to bore tunnels by three consortia – Afcons-Transtonnelstroy, L&T and SUCG.

In August 2012, a construction worker was killed with six others seriously injured due to a crane failure near Pachaiyappa's College and on 10 January 2013, a 22-year-old construction worker was killed with three others injured at a construction site between Alandur and St Thomas Mount. On 6 November 2013, a test run was conducted along a stretch of track. The project faced several delays and missed deadlines due to problems with land acquisition and cancellation of construction contracts. On 11 January 2014, a crane toppled over, killing a 20-year-old construction worker and seriously injuring another at Saidapet.

On 14 February 2014, the maiden trial run was conducted between Koyambedu and Ashok Nagar stations. The metro received the statutory speed certification clearance from the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) in August that year. In January 2015, a report was submitted to the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) for mandatory safety approvals. After inspecting the infrastructure, the CMRS submitted the report to the Railway Board in April 2015.

On 17 June 2015, a 30-year-old man was killed and another motorcyclist injured when an iron rod fell on them at a metro construction site near Officers Training Academy at St. Thomas Mount. Operations on the green line between the Alandur and Koyambedu stations commenced on 29 June 2015. The blue line segment from the Airport and Little Mount stations commenced operations on 21 September 2016. The first underground section between Thirumangalam to Nehru Park on the green line opened on 14 May 2017, and the extension to Chennai central was completed on 25 May 2018 along with the section from the Saidapet and AG-DMS stations on the blue line. On 10 February 2019, the underground stretch from AG-DMS to Washermanpet of Blue Line was opened, marking the completion of the first phase of the metro.

Phase I Extension

A northern extension of the blue line was announced in 2014 by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The extension would run from Washermanpet to Wimco Nagar and consist of nine stations. Construction started in July 2016 with trial runs in December 2020. The line opened for passenger traffic on 14 February 2021, increasing the length of the operational metro system to . The expansion costed of which 57% was loaned by Japan.

In 2021, the CMRL proposed a further extension of the blue line to connect the airport with Kilambakkam at an estimated cost of .

Phase II

In July 2016, the Government of Tamil Nadu announced that the second phase would have three lines spanning with 104 stations. Two corridors would extend from connecting with Siruseri SIPCOT and respectively with the third corridor connecting Koyambedu with Lighthouse on the Marina beach. In July 2017, the state government announced an extension of Phase II, involving a section from Lighthouse up to Poonamallee with an intersection with the Madhavaram–Sholinganallur line at Alwarthirunagar. The second phase would span with 128 stations. The stations for the second phase were designed to be smaller than the stations of the first phase to reduce the cost and time of construction. In 2019, the Madras High Court questioned the state government on the construction method of the tunnels and its impact on the water bodies. The second phase was estimated to cost of which was loaned by JICA.

On 20 November 2020, foundation stone for the second phase was laid and construction commenced. On 14 February 2021, Prime Minister of India announced that the government has set aside for the construction of the second phase and its further extension. In May 2021, the CMRL awarded contracts to Tata Group, L&T and HCC- KEC for the construction of various sections of the second phase. In November 2022, Alstom was awarded a contract to supply rolling stock for the second phase. The contract included a provision for the supply of 78 train sets including 36 driverless trains. In December 2022, a contract for the installation of tracks was given to KEC–VNC and Hitachi bagged the contract for the installation of signalling systems. In January 2023, Rail Vikas Nigam Limited was awarded a contract for the constructions of underground stations and Linxon was given the contract for the installation of electric traction.

In May 2023, the CMRL announced no changes to the lines' alignment and that nine stations would be scrapped in the revised plan. Hence, the total length of the second phase was reduced to .

In May 2023, L&T was contracted for the installation of overhead equipment and control and monitoring systems. Tata Projects was awarded the contract to construct select stations in October. In December, the CMRL awarded the contract to ST Engineering for the installation of platform screen doors in the elevated stations of the second phase. In the same month, Shellinfo was awarded a contract for the installation of automated fare collection systems. In addition to the previously ordered Alstom train-sets, the CMRL invited bids in March 2024 for the supply of 500 train-sets for the second phase. , about of the second phase had been completed. With the Phase-II updated map released on February 2025, the colour code of Line 4 was changed from Orange to Yellow.

CMRL conducted the first trial run of the Phase II network on 20 March 2025 on a 3 km stretch between Poonamalle Depot and Mullaithottam. As of April 2025, trial runs had begun running between a 10 km stretch between Poonamallee and Porur stations of the Yellow Line.

Phase II Extension

In 2022, the state government proposed an extension plan spanning for the three under construction lines of the second phase. The proposal involved extension of Purple Line from Siruseri SIPCOT to Kilambakkam, Yellow Line from Poonamallee to Parandur and Red Line from Koyambedu to Avadi. The proposed extension of second phase lines from Siruseri to Kilambakkam, Poonamallee to Parandur, and Koyambedu to Avadi were projected to cost , , and , respectively. Between late 2023 and early 2024, feasibility reports submitted by the CMRL suggested dropping the proposed extension of the purple line due to economic viability and going ahead with the planned extensions of the other two lines, spanning . In May 2024, the state government proposed a new extension from Madhavaram to Ennore. In August 2024, another new extension from Airport metro to Poonamallee was proposed by CMRL with the aim of connecting the existing airport with the upcoming new airport at Parandur by metro.

The Government of Tamil Nadu approved the Phase-1 extension of the Blue Line from Chennai Airport Metro to Kilambakkam for 15.46 km and Phase-2 extension of the Red Line from Koyambedu to Pattabiram for 21.76 km. The cost of Blue line and Red line extensions were estimated to be and respectively. The DPRs have been forwarded to the Central Government for approval.

Integration of MRTS

The government proposed to integrate the Chennai Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) into the Chennai Metro in 2017. In July 2018, the PwC said that the merger would cost around to convert the rolling stock and install other facilities for the merger. On 11 May 2022, Southern Railway of the Indian Railways granted in-principle approval for the conversion of the MRTS into the metro. The railway would handover the MRTS to the CMRL once the expansion of the MRTS is completed and as of 2024, the extended second phase of the MRTS project, connecting Velachery with St. Thomas Mount was still under construction. Once the takeover is completed, Chennai Metro will upgrade the entire MRTS system including tracks, security, ticketing system and rolling stock.

Metrolite

In 2020, a light rail was proposed to connect Tambaram railway station of the existing suburban rail network with Velachery on the MRTS, as part of plans to link the different urban transit lines in the city. Feasibility studies for the project was commissioned in February 2023 by the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA). In March 2024, a study was commissioned to re-assess the feasibility of establishing a new corridor connecting Tambaram with Velachery with an extension to connect with the metro at Guindy.

Others

CMRL developed the Kathipara Urban Square as a multi-modal transport hub which integrated bus bays, parking lots, eateries and play areas. The Kathipara Urban Square is flanked by Ekkattuthangal Metro Station to the North, Alandur Metro Station to the South and Guindy Metro to the East. CMRL announced in April 2025 that it has identified public spaces in Adyar and Velachery which can be transformed into public spaces akin to Kathipara Urban Square.

In 2023, the CMRL proposed the development of Central Square around its headquarters with commercial complexes and multi-storied buildings. This project received environmental clearance from the Tamil Nadu Government in January 2025 and construction was expected in begin February 2025.

The third phase of the Chennai Metro is under planning as a part of the Chennai Comprehensive Mobility Plan. The CMRL is also involved in the feasibility studies for the development of metro rail transport in the cities of Coimbatore, Madurai and Tiruchirapalli.

Infrastructure

Network and lines

Chennai Metro runs on and the lines are double-tracked. The average operational speed is with a maximum speed of .

As of March 2024, the operational network consists of two colour-coded lines covering a length of 54.1 km (33.6 mi).

Rolling stock

Phase 1

Alstom supplied the rolling stock for Phase 1. The first nine trainsets were imported from Brazil and the rest were manufactured at a new facility set up at Sri City, near Chennai. For the first phase, Alstom supplied 52 trainsets composed of four coaches each, with each car measuring in length. The trains are air-conditioned with electrically operated automated sliding doors and have a first class compartment with a dedicated section reserved for women.

The trains operate with overhead lines, with a maximum speed of . They are equipped with regenerative braking, with a capacity to recover 30–35% of the energy during braking. The metro consumes an average of 70 MW of power daily and the electricity is supplied by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board. Chennai Metro also uses solar power with an installed capacity of 6.4 MWp, which contributes to about 12-15% of the energy requirement of the metro.

Phase 2

CMRL finalized three tenders for Chennai Metro Phase 2 - ARE02A, ARE03A, and ARE04A.

CMRL confirmed that ARE02A includes the production of 70 trainsets, made of 3 coaches (210 coaches). The trainsets are to be deployed on the Red Line and the Purple Line. On 28 November 2024 the tender was awarded to BEML for . ARE03A includes the production of 26 trainsets, made of 3 coaches (78 coaches). The trainsets are to be deployed on the Yellow Line. On 29 July 2022, the tender was awarded to Alstom for . CMRL later announced they had placed an additional order of 10 trainsets of 3 coaches (30 coaches) for ARE03A for a total cost of . ARE04A includes the production of 32 driverless trainsets, made of 3 coaches (96 coaches), and was awarded to Alstom in June 2025, valued at €135 million.

Stations

A total of 40 stations, 22 of which are underground, are operational on the two existing lines of Phase 1. In the underground sections, a walkway runs along the length with cross passages every for the maintenance and emergency evacuation. The underground stations have an average width of and average depth of from the ground level. The length of the stations in Phase 1 extension is .

The elevated stations have three levels with the concourse level at a minimum height of above the ground level and platform level above the concourse while the underground stations have two levels with platform screen doors. The stations are air-conditioned and are equipped to be disabled and elderly friendly, with automated fare collection, public announcement system, electronic display boards, escalators and lifts. Paid parking facilities are available for two wheelers in most stations and four wheelers in select stations.

Depots

Chennai Metro maintains a major depot at Koyambedu covering an area of and an elevated depot at Wimco Nagar, covering an area of New depots are planned at Madhavaram, Poonamallee and Semmancheri as a part of the second phase. Also, another depot is planned at Pattabiram for Line 5 extension.

Operations

, the metro operates trains from 5:00am to 11:00pm. The blue line has an average frequency of every 6 minutes during peak hours and every 12 minutes during off-peak hours. On the green line, the average frequency is 12 minutes during peak hours and 18 minutes during off-peak hours. The main operational control center (OCC) is located in Koyambedu where the movement of trains and real-time CCTV footage obtained is monitored. In 2022-23, the average daily ridership was 0.25 million.

Timings

Metro Timetable

Fare and ticketing

The minimum fare is 10 and the maximum fare is 50.

There are six types of tickets issued by CMRL for travel in Chennai Metro.
* Single journey tokens, which need to be purchased each time for every journey at the ticket counter or in ticket vending machines available at all stations.
* Stored value cards (SVC) are pre-paid, rechargeable, travel cards that can be purchased at any ticket counter against a refundable deposit, can be recharged up to at any ticket counter or in automated ticket vending machines at stations and offers discounted fares. In April 2023, National Common Mobility Card replaced the Stored value cards
* Trip cards are for applicable for travel between the same two stations and are available in varied combinations and validity with discounted fares.
* Tourist cards provide the cardholders unlimited rides on the Chennai Metro system for one day.
* QR Tickets for single and return journey tickets can be bought through the CMRL mobile app with QR code ticket scanners at stations.
* National Common Mobility Card, also branded as Singara Chennai card, a stored-value cum debit card launched in 2023 in association with State Bank of India which can be used to access all major other metro and select bus transport systems in India.

Chennai Metro is the second most expensive in terms of ticket cost per kilometer in the country after Mumbai Metro. The fares were temporarily slashed by up to 20 by the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in February 2021 with the maximum fare capped at 40.

See also

* Coimbatore Metro
* Madurai Metro
* Transport in Chennai
* Urban rail transit in India

Notes

References

External links

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Chennai Metro
2015 establishments in Tamil Nadu
Transport in Chennai
Government of Chennai
Airport rail links in India
25 kV AC railway electrification
Standard-gauge railways in India
Railway lines opened in 2015