Metro train to start operation in October! Test run being conducted on both tracks
Posted on: 01/May/2014 9:59:28 AM
Test-runs are being conducted on for a distance of 6 km both tracks of Koyambedu to Ashok Nagar section. The planned schedule is to start the metro train operations for the public from October.
There are 2 corridors covering a distance of 45 km in the Metro train project. The first is between Washermanpet and Chennai Airport. The second corridor is between Chennai Central Railway Station and St. Thomas Mount.
Out of the 45 km, 21 km will be on an elevated platform. 24 km will be underground.
In the first stage, it was announced that metro rail operations will start on the section between Koyambedu & St. Thomas Mount before the end of this year. However, the contractors. CCCI, operating on the Koyambedu, Arumbakkam, Ashok Nagar, Aalandur, Guindy, and Chinna Malai (the Small Mount) sections delayed the work. Following this CCCI was removed from the contract. A new tender was floated and new contractors, Nagarjuna, URC, Thiruchitrambalam, and Saraswathi Engineering were given the construction work.
Because of this, there is a delay in the work in the section between Koyambedu & St. Thomas Mount. In the revised schedule, the officials plan to conduct the test-run for a distance of 6 km between Koyambedu & Ashok Nagar. There are 5 stations on this route: Koyambedu, CMBT, Arumbakkam, Vadapalani, and Ashok Nagar. Track laying work is complete. Electrification work is also complete. Test-run was conducted for one track on this section on 14th February. This was successful.
The test-run for the second track is being conducted from last week. The work is progressing at a good pace. Test-runs for 2 tracks is being conducted. The construction of railway Stations is expected to be completed in the next months. As such, metro Rail operation for public operation for this section is scheduled from October.
In the next stage, an additional section of 4 km, between Ashok Nagar & Aalandur, will be added. At the same time, the underground section between Shenoy Nagar & Anna Nagar Tower is also complete. The work on the section between Anna Nagar Tower & Thirumanglam is about to commence. Once this is over, Metro Rail is scheduled to operate on the section between Shenoy nagar – Koyambedu – Aalandur around June-July next year.
105 metres long Iron Bridge to cross Guindy Station
It is a highly challenging job to lay the tracks in the traffic-dense areas of Koyambedu, Saidapet, and Guindy in the city of Chennai. This is because sufficient precautioner measures are to be taken by the construction authorities not to cause any undue disturbance to the public traffic in these areas. The work is progressing with all the safety measures and minimum disturbance to the public.
In the Washermanpet – Chennai Airport corridor, the over-bridge work above the Gundy-Kathipara flyover was completed without any major disturbance to the public while facing a lot of challenging problems.
Presently, an iron bridge is being constructed in the section Chinnamalai – Guindy across the existing railway track. The track for Metro rail will be laid on the 105 metre-long iron bridge.
It is to be noted that high tension electric lines are existing in the current route. So, workers cannot stand and work. Hence, an iron bridge has been constructed for laying the tracks for metro rail. This is expected to be complete in the next few weeks.
2 more trains from Brazil
Out of the 42 trains meant for Metro rail project, 7 trains will be shipped from Brazil and the balance from Sri City, Andhra Pradesh. Each train has 4 coaches. The first train from Brazil reached Chennai last June. 7 trains from Brazil and 2 from Andhra Pradesh arrived at Chennai since then. These trains are kept at the Koyambedu workshop.
2 more trains have been shipped from Brazil. These are expected to reach Chennai by end of May. With this, all 9 trains scheduled from Brazil would have reached Chennai. The balance trains will be transported from Tada, Sri City, Andhra Pradesh.
