Latest important news about driverless metro trains operation and largest metro rail depot in Chennai!!
Posted on: 07/Sep/2023 9:09:23 AM
The metro rail maintenance depot located in Poonamallee would become a place for the driverless metro trains testing. Point is that the testing would be carried out in a year. In 2025, the first stretch of phase-2 metro line from Power House to Poonamallee would be open to the public.
The track laying work for testing of metro trains has started and this was as per some officers belonging to CMRL. It must be taken into note that the new set of trains would arrive by August 2024.
Details about the Poonamallee depot:
Information gathered is that the depot would be making its presence felt over an area of 15.3 hectares. It would be used to service and maintain as many as twenty six 3car driverless trains for 26.1km on corridor4 from LightHouse to Poonamallee Bypass. From 2025 to 2028, the 116.1km phase-2 would be opened in stages.
According to an official from CMRL it was clear that the metro train test tracks would get ready by June 2024. He hinted that by September 2024 the stabling area and viaducts to park the metro trains would be ready.
An amount of Rs 225 cr would be spent for constructing the Poonamallee depot. Point is that the depot would have 24 lines or tracks for parking 3 and 6 car trains after daily operations. It is learnt that at any given point of time three six car trains would be under inspection and the remaining would be stabled for early morning operations. To monitor the movement of trains inside the depot, a control centre would be constructed.
The driverless trains that are operated in core Chennai places from Light house in Marina Beach, Nandanam, T. Nagar, Kodambakkam etc to far off places like Porur, Iyyappanthangal, Poonamallee etc would be serviced at the depot.
Details about the depot at Madhavaram:
On an area of 27.8 hectare, another depot would be coming up at Madhavaram in phase-2. This would be the largest metro rail depot in the entire Chennai. It must be noted that currently CMRL has a depot at Koyambedu and this depot could accommodate a fleet of 52 four car trains for operations on the 45km in phase-1 and 9km phase-1 extension. By 2023, an elevated depot would be readied in Wimco Nagar. The CMRL would be operating 138 3cr driverless trains in phase-2. At Padur about 2km from Siruseri, a third depot has been planned also.
