Construction Industry News
CMRL plans line from Poonamallee to Parandur In a few years, passengers landing at Parandur greenfield airport will be able to take the metro into the city. Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) recently launched a tender to select a company to study the feasibility of extending the service 50km from Poonamallee to Parandur.
Metrorail is already building a line connecting Poonamallee from Lighthouse in the 118.9km Phase 2 project connecting core cities such as Mylapore, Nandanam, T Nagar and Kodambakkam. Phase 2 is likely to be completed in 2026.
"We can expect the detailed feasibility report (DFR) to be ready within eight months," said a top CMRL official. In August 2022, the government announced Parandur near Sriperumbudur as the location for the second airport for Chennai. The feasibility study assesses several factors such as the feasibility to operate metro services, alignment, type of train — metro, metro lite or monorail — projection of number of passengers, number of stations, location of stops and cost estimate. Unlike the existing airport where subway train passengers have to walk long distances to reach the terminals, officials said the trains will stop within the new airport and passengers can have a relatively shorter distance to walk to the terminal. The trains will also be faster than those of Phase 1 and there may only be stations every 7km or 10km between Poonamallee and Parandur. This should ensure that passengers from the city can reach the airport faster. In phase 1 and 2, stations are located every 800 m to 1 km.
“The master plan for the new airport is not yet ready. Once that's done, we'll be in talks with Airports Authority of India to operate trains at the airport. As the trains will be fast, the tracks and railcars in this line will be different,” said a CMRL official. CMRL has also launched tenders for selecting an agency to conduct feasibility studies for Phase 2 extension lines from Thirumangalam to Avadi, Siruseri to Kelambakkam and from Kelambakkam to Kilambakkam via Mambakkam and Vandalur.The extension lines were announced in the state meeting in May.Sivasubramaniam Jayaraman, Institute of Transport and Development Policy (ITDP-India), said passengers, like the dedicated airport line in Delhi, should have facilities such as checking in at the metro stations to make their commute fast and seamless.
“They should keep the walking distance between the metro station and the airport to a minimum, ensure that both facilities are on the same level and provide walkalators. They can also provide porter service for those carrying heavy luggage. The ticket price can be high, but many facilities must be available so that the metro is the first option that air passengers choose,” he said.
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