The Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has removed six stations from its proposed network for the Phase-II of the metro in the city.
With this reduction in stations, the agency is expected to reduce Rs 12,000 crore from the total project expenditure, reports ET.
The six stations to be removed includes both elevated and underground stations — Doveton Junction, Foreshore Estate, Natesan Park, Meenakshi College, Thapal Petti and St Joseph’s College.
The Phase-II of the project spans 118.9 km and consists of 128 stations, out of which 48 are underground.
It is expected to cost nearly Rs 61,843 crore and is projected to be completed by 2026.
Under the second phase of the Chennai Metro, three corridors have been planned for development.
The Thapal Petti, Doveton, and St Joseph’s College are situated on the 45.8 km long Corridor-3, between Madhavaram Milk Colony and Siruseri SIPCOT.
Meanwhile, the Foreshore Estate, Natesan Park, and Meenakshi College are located on the 26.1-km long Corridor-4, running between Lighthouse-Poonamallee Bypass.
Metro stations are typically designed to be spaced every 1 km with the intention of facilitating easy access to transportation as well as ensuring convenient emergency evacuation routes.
According to L Girirajan, CMRL spokesperson, the reason for removing certain stations is due to its proximity to nearby stations.
Additionally, the proposed station at Thapal Petti in Madhavaram would have presented a challenging issue to maintain due to a sharp curve.
He stated that financial savings of approximately Rs 450 crore would be achieved by removing both Thapal Petti and Meenakshi College stations. Most of the other cancelled stations are placed at a distance of approximately 750 m.
However, with this decision, residents of Madhavaram have reached the courts to have Thapal Petti station reinstated.
As per the ET report, T K Mohandoss, president, Palaniappa Nagar Civic Association in Thapal Petti, said that the station was removed from the plan due to its expected low footfall.
However, there are roughly 30,000 people living near the proposed location, making it conveniently accessible for us and also Kodungaiyur residents. The nearest stations, Murari Hospital and Madhavaram Milk Colony, are almost a kilometre away.
Previously, CMRL made modifications to reduce the project cost estimated from Rs 89,000 crore to the current estimate of Rs 61,843 crore.
In order to achieve this reduction in cost, CMRL decided to cancel the maintenance depot planned at Siruseri SIPCOT. This was replaced with stabling lines meant for parking trains.
Furthermore, a few stations that were initially supposed to be underground were changed to elevated stations.
The Phase-I of the Chennai metro is fully operational. It consists of a 54.1 km network with two corridors — Corridor-1 from Wimco Nagar to Airport and Corridor-2 from Chennai Central to St Thomas Mount.
There are 41 stations of which 21 are underground and 20 elevated.