Tamil Nadu govt keen to have metro in Madurai and Coimbatore

The DMK government kept up its efforts to develop metro rail networks in Madurai and Coimbatore in the budget. Metro rail was a pet project of the DMK, with MK Stalin, as the then local administration minister, launching its construction in Chennai first in 2009.
Finance minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan in his Budget speech said a detailed feasibility report (DPR) for metro rail in Madurai will be prepared and that establishment of metro rail in Coimbatore will be taken up at the earliest in consultation with the Union government.
The AIADMK government had in its interim budget in February allocated 6,683 crore for metro rail in Coimbatore. A DPR is ready for a proposed 44-km line in the city, where metro rail was proposed three years ago.
There have been demands for metro rail by trade bodies in Madurai as the city with a population of 25 lakh is considered to be second most affected by traffic congestion in the state.
A Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) official said, “CMRL will carry out studies and will prepare a DPR for Madurai just as it did for Coimbatore.”
The DMK government is also set to give a push for metro rail in Chennai. With construction on for the line between Kodambakkam and Porur, Rajan said in the assembly, “This government will urge the Union government to accord early formal approval for equity participation in phase II of the Chennai metro rail project as committed to in the Budget speech of the Union finance minister, and the necessary counter part funding released at the earliest.”
The government also has set June 2025 as deadline for starting services in the first line of phase 2 — Kodambakkam to Poonamallee bypass section. The entire phase 2 network is scheduled to be completed by December 2026, he added. The government plans to speed up the extension line from Chennai airport to Kilambakkam Bus Terminus via Tambaram.