CHENNAI (Metro Rail News): Chennai Metro Rail Limited is revising the commissioning plan for Corridor-5 under Phase-II after a trial run was completed on the Vadapalani-Poonamallee depot section. This section is planned to enter commercial services by February.
Instead of limiting initial operations to Nandambakkam, the corridor is now proposed to extend services up to Alandur by June 2026. Corridor-5, known as the Red Line, is a 47-km corridor that will connect Madhavaram and Sholinganallur.
CMRL Managing Director M.A. Siddique said the Red Line was initially planned to begin Phase-II operations between Koyambedu and the Chennai Trade Centre at Nandambakkam, with the alignment passing through Alapakkam. This 12-km section was targeted for completion by June 2026, as reported by TNIE.
However, the work on the Vadapalani-Poonamallee section has progressed faster than expected, which has led CMRL to rethink the order in which Phase-II sections will open. Instead of stopping at Nandambakkam, the CMRL is now planning to extend the double-decker corridor up to Alandur.
Alandur is an important interchange where the existing Green and Blue lines meet. Opening Phase-II services up to this point at an earlier stage would help connect the new corridor with the current metro network and make operations more flexible as construction continues elsewhere.
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