Pact soon with Japan agency to bankroll Chennai Metro Phase II

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government is likely to seal an agreement with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for implementing the `85,000 crore second phase of Chennai Metro by the end of this financial year, according to S Krishnan, Principal Secretary, Planning, Development and Special Initiatives department.

Speaking on the sidelines of the breakthrough of the first tunnel boring machine in the 3.7 km longest continuous tunnel drive stretch from Government Estate to AG-DMS under Phase I of Chennai Metro, Krishnan said a Pre-appraisal Mission from JICA will be visiting the city next month to discuss the second phase of Chennai Metro after which an agreement will be signed by March-April next year.
He said the detailed project report for implementing the second Phase of Chennai Metro has been sent to the Centre.

The Phase II of Chennai Metro will have three corridors - Madhavaram-Siruseri, Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT)-Lighthouse and Madhavaram-Sholinganallur. There is also a proposal to extend Chennai Metro Rail line from Lighthouse near Marina Beach to Poonamallee, near Chennai, at an additional cost of `3,850 crore.

Industries Minister M C Sampath, who was also present, said the entire tunnelling under the first phase is likely to be completed by next month. He said the green line from St Thomas Mount to Nehru Park, which is now 19.3 km long, will be over by February-March next year with the opening up of 2.7 km stretch linking Nehru Park to Central Station via Egmore.

The 4 km stretch from AG-DMS to Little Mount will also be opened simultaneously. This would mean that the Blue Line (Corridor-1) will have nearly 13 km stretch under operation from March next year.
Krishnan said traffic problems in Mount Road would ease only by the end of next year after the opening of the entire stretch under the first phase. For, work on Metro stations on Thousand Lights and LIC will begin only after the tunnelling is completed under the first phase, he said.To a query on whether Chennai Metro will go in for rakes built by Integral Coach factory, under the second phase, Krishnan said a decision will be taken only after floating the bids.

This comes in the wake of ICF’s statement that it had approached Metro Rail companies, including Chennai Metro Rail Ltd (CMRL), for a trial order of one prototype rake - coaches that form an entire train - so they may compare the performance against those manufactured by firms like Germany’s Bombardier and France’s Alstom, whose coaches Indian metro rail companies currently operate.

On the merger of Mass Rapid Transit System with Chennai Metro, he said a consultant is preparing a report on the assets to be distributed between Chennai Metro and MRTS. The report is likely to be submitted in the next two to three months. He also said Chennai Beach will be a major hub as it will be an exchange point between suburban and MRTS.

Meanwhile, with the completion of tunnelling from Government Estate to AG-DMS, the complete tunnel in downline will be available from Saidapet to Washermenpet. The second tunnel boring machine is ready for breakthrough after completing the balance length of around 450 metres of tunnel drive.

Wait gets longer for breakthrough

Chennai: The much-awaited breakthrough of the first tunnel boring machine (TBM) in the 3.7 km longest continuous tunnel drive stretch from Government Estate to AG-DMS under Phase I of Chennai Metro failed to happen on Tuesday. The event which was attended by Industries Minister M C Sampath and other dignitaries was called off late in the evening as the TBM failed to make any progress. The machine was expected to achieve breakthrough around 12.30 pm but the machine was not able to bring the wall down at the other end till 7 pm.