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Chennai Metro Rail service for public to commence 1st week of October!
Posted on: 29/Jul/2014 2:29:51 PM
Chennai Metro Rail service will start operating from 1st week of October in the section between Koyambedu & Alandur.
The train fare will be announced in August.
Chennai Metro Rail Project, costing Rs. 14,600 Crores, will function in 2 sections covering a total distance of 45.1 km in double track.
The 1st section is between Washermanpet and Chennai Airport. It covers 23.1 km. The 2nd section is between Central Railway Staion and St. Thomas Mount covering a distance of 22 km.
Central government has borne 15% capital and provided 5% loan. Tamil Nadu government has borne 15% and provided a loan of 5.78%. The balance 59.22% is obtained as a loan from Japan multi-national Cooperative System.
Test runs have been conducted in the last few months on the section between Koyambedu & Alandur in different stages. The strength of the tracks and the performance of the signalling system are all being checked. The trains have been tested by running at a maximum speed of 80 km per hour.
The control centre, located at Koyambedu Railway station, has also started functioning. All trains will be monitored and controlled from here.
The main duty of the driver will be to monitor the tracks and the passengers. If there are any problems or barriers in the track, the train will stop automatically.
The minimum fare is fixed at Rs. 10/-. The fare will increase in steps of 10 as per the distance.
It has been planned to issue tokens & smart cards as tickets to travel. There will be no season tickets.
