The deadlock has come to an end now!!
As per some sources belonging to CMRL it was confirmed that the much awaited Chennai airport-Kilambakkam metro rail project would be taken up as the prolonged deadlock between CMRL and state Highways department has ended now.
It must be noted that the CMRL has planned a mass rapid transit between airport and Kilambakkam as an extension of phase-1 project in the southern part of Chennai. The state Highways department was interested in building an elevated corridor till Tambaram.
This has led to discussions between CMRL and state highways department over which level the viaduct of metro rail must be constructed and the height of the elevated corridor etc. In 2022, CMRL submitted a detailed project report to the state government and even after these the discussions continued between them.
It was revealed by an officer that the issue has been resolved now and both the departments have reached a consensus on the issue. For the future projects belonging to the state highways department like elevated corridors etc, CMRL would make provisions. Point is that only some changes would be done regarding the height of Chennai metro rail viaduct in certain locations. The officer concluded that the changes would be carried out in the DPR or detailed project report in the coming weeks.
Important piece of information is that the Chennai airport-Kilambakkam project would be of a distance of15.3km and would be constructed at a cost of Rs 4080 crores. The places in Chennai where stops are planned are Pallavaram, Kothandam Nagar, Chromepet , Mahalakshmi Colony, Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, Tambaram, Irumbuliyur, Peerkankaranai, Perungalathur, Vandalur, Arignar Anna Zoo and Kilambakkam bus terminus. It is known that many in Chennai use suburban trains now and several people go all the way to the airport to travel to areas covered by the metro trains.