The construction of Chennai Metro Rail’s (CMRL) Phase-II project has gained momentum in the Corridor-5 (Madhavaram to Sholinganallur), covering a length of 44.6 km, and track work has begun in one of its stretches.

As in the other two corridors, Corridor-3 from Madhavaram to SIPCOT, and Corridor-4 from Light House to Poonamallee) in the 116-km Phase-II project, Corridor-5 is a mix of both elevated and underground stretches. Though work on the underground stretch of Kolathur- Villivakkam has been delayed, work on the elevated stretches, from Madhavaram to Koyambedu, Koyambedu to Ullagaram, and Ullagaram to Elcot is progressing well.

The track laying started a few weeks ago between the proposed stations at Echankadu and Vellakal on the 44.6-km corridor, and the building of piers across corridor 5 is underway. In Corridor-5, of the 1,500 piers to be constructed, about 150 piers between Madhavaram and Koyambedu, 142 between Koyambedu and Ullagaram and 205 between Ullagaram and Elcot have been completed.

In Corridor-5, the first stretch expected to be ready for operation before the end of 2026 will be between Madhavaram and Retteri, and the track work is likely to begin on this stretch in about six months.

Meanwhile, CMRL has been concentrating on completing the construction between Poonamallee and Porur Junction, to be commissioned by the end of 2025.