Chennai Metro plans to extend services till 11 p.m. when the last two stretches connecting Anna Salai and north Chennai are opened in January.
At present, the last train leaves around 10 p.m. from Chennai Central, Chennai Airport and AG-DMS, which are terminal stations.
Washermenpet to Chennai Central (3.4 km) and AG-DMS to Chennai Central (4.1 km) will be thrown open to the public by the end of January, bringing an end to the phase I project that began nearly seven years ago.
According to officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), they plan to increase the services because they expect more passengers headed to the airport.
“Apart from that, we expect many more to start using our services when these two stretches would become operational by January. If there is a significant increase in traffic, we could even increase the services by an hour-and-a-half; but that will be decided later,” an official said. At present, the Chennai Metro Rail operates services covering three stretches: Chennai Central to Chennai airport, Chennai Central to St. Thomas Mount and AG-DMS to Chennai airport.
There are 25 trains running now but in January, 10 more trains will be pressed into service.
Officials said they also plan to increase the frequency of trains from seven to five minutes during peak hours. But it is not clear if the frequency of trains during non peak hours will be changed from 14 minutes now.
When these two stretches are opened, the commuters can travel directly from Washermenpet to Chennai airport.