Latest News About Chennai Metro Rail
Full swing operations for Chennai metro rail
The government is now carrying out the metro rail construction work between Chennai Vannarapetai –airport and central-st.thomas mount.
The overall cost of the project is nearly Rs 14,600 crores. As the first phase, the 10km length metro rail system between Koyambedu and Alandur will commence its function during October 2014 and the related works are getting done in full swing. For the subway construction works, 12 tunnel boring machines are engaged.
Metro rail resumes work on airport line
It was very bleak because the status of OTA-Meenambakkam stretch of metro rail was kept in dark by the CMRL officials. The earlier contractor was unable to complete the work. Now a new contractor has taken over the work that will give the last mile connectivity to the airport.The new firm, ITD Cementation from Mumbai, will build the cut-and-cover tunnel under the air funnel by the side of GST Road, a ramp connecting the tunnel, and a few box structures needed for trains. The 64.86-crore project is expected to be completed before February 2015.Metro rail terminated the contract of Lanco Infratech which was building the OTA-airport line in August at 178.94 crore because the company was lagging behind but 70% of the time had elapsed.
The line has been split into two phases, and fresh tenders were floated so that the investment burden will be less for firms to take up the remaining work. The corporation is in the process of identifying a contractor for the Meenambakkam-airport stretch.The OTA-Meenambakkam stretch is a crucial portion of the airport line because it crosses the approach path of aircraft coming in to land on the second runway. The elevated line from OTA veers into the airport campus and dips below the surface to avoid obstruction to flights. The earlier contractor had excavated the cutand-cover tunnel meant to take the train below the surface was excavated, but shoring up need to be done.Metro rail is planning to award the contract for the Meenambakkam to airport stretch zone. The work for the entire line was scheduled to be completed by end of last year, and commissioning of the line was scheduled by the end of this year.
Metro to miss July 2014 deadline
Originally the CMRL was supposed to conduct the trial run of metro coaches on the elevated path by end of this week. CMRL officials had also confirmed that the works related to the stations were nearing completion. But now the news is Consolidated Construction Consortium Limited (CCCL) who was responsible for the construction of stations including Koyambedu, CMBT, Arumbakkam, Vadapalani, Ashok Nagar, Ekattuthangal, Alandur and St. Thomas Mount has not completed its works. Hence Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) terminated its contract with Consolidated Construction Consortium Limited (CCCL), on Monday.
Construction of these stations has suffered constant delays and stands incomplete now. The project was estimated to cost Rs. 14, 600 crore.Fresh Tenders will be called for shortly and the contract will be handed over to other successful bidders by February-end. The trial run may be carried out in October and the stretch between Koyambedu to Alandur may be thrown open for public use only in November.CMRL had planned to conduct the trial run by December 2013 and begin the first phase of operations by March 2014.
Metro Rail’s Operations Control Center (OCC) is getting ready in Koyambedu
The Operations Control Center (OCC) in Koyambedu depot, which is the nerve centre of Chennai Metro Rail, is likely to be completed very shortly.
The OCC in Koyambedu will be monitoring all the Metro trains, including those plying on the underground stretches. It will pass on live information to the station masters as well as train operators. Another senior official said that OCC could track passengers at all times through surveillance cameras. This will provide deterrence against crime, especially against women.It will also be in touch with the train operator through a wireless radio. Even the lifts and elevators will be monitored through the OCC.
Sri City Special Economic Zone start manufacturing coaches for CMRL
Alstom’s Metro rail coach manufacturing facility at Sri City Special Economic Zone start manufacturing coaches for CMRL. Eight more trains that are now being manufactured in Brazil will be shipped in pairs to Chennai while the remaining 33 will be manufactured in Sri City.The first roll out is expected by February.
The coaches will be produced with an indigenization level of around 35 per cent. It is believed the site design and construction of the plant is based on technology shared from Alstom’s global manufacturing facilities as well as its major hub in Lapa in Brazil, where the train that was tested in Chennai.
Chennai Metro Rail’s trial run may take some more time
The Metro Rail trial run was to take by end of this month. Now there is news that it would take three months to complete the works. CMRL may terminate the contract of Consolidated Construction Consortium Limited (CCCL) that is involved in the construction of stations, including Koyambedu, CMBT, Arumbakkam, Vadapalani, Ashok Nagar, Ekattuthangal and Alandur, which are scheduled to be a part of the trial run.
Officials of CMRL recently said there were several delays in the construction of stations by CCCL and the company had not paid salary dues to several of its employees. CMRL had then advanced a payment to help CCCL.There is also news that CMRL may terminate the contract of CCCL. If the contract ends, it will throw construction out of gear on the Koyambedu-Alandur stretch for at least three months as fresh tenders have to be floated only after which the new contractor can begin work.
Metro rail to be tested on elevated corridor from Koyambedu to Alandur by end of this month
Metro Rail will be tested by end of this month on the elevated corridor from Koyambedu to Alandur.By September, the stretch, comprising seven stations, might be thrown open for public, according to officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL). Chennai Metro Rail, built at a cost of Rs. 14,600 crore, will run across a 45-km stretch criss-crossing the city; half of this network will be on an elevated platform and the other half underground.It will have two corridors – one linking Washermanpet to Airport and the other, Chennai Central to St. Thomas Mount. Earlier, CMRL decided to conduct the trial run for Stage 1 of the project from Koyambedu to St. Thomas Mount, a distance of 11 km. But owing to delays in the civil work, they will now carry out this run only between Koyambedu to Alandur.
The first train, manufactured in Sao Paulo in Brazil, arrived in July and its test run was carried out on the 800 metre test-track located within the Koyambedu depot last November. Subsequently, two trains reached the city in the last week of November. After the trial run, tracks and trains will have to go through several safety tests. There is also a requirement to test the trains for a fixed time period. Then, officials of Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO), the research wing of Indian Railways, will run the trains at nearly 90km/h, 10 per cent more than their maximum sectional speed and recheck the strength of trains. Nearly 50 per cent of the overall Metro Rail work has been completed. The elevated corridor is approaching the final stages of construction and a third of the work in the underground section is over. Signalling and electrical work is under progress on the elevated corridor.
Trial run of Metro Rail by end of this month
The trial run of Metro Rail on the elevated path between Koyambedu and Ashok Nagar will be done by end of this month. Earlier, CMRL decided to conduct the trial run for Stage 1 of the project from Koyambedu to St. Thomas Mount, a distance of 11 km. But owing to delays in the civil work, they will now carry out this run only between Koyambedu to Alandur.
The first train, manufactured in Sao Paulo in Brazil, arrived in July and its test run was carried out on the 800 metre test-track located within the Koyambedu depot last November. Subsequently, two trains reached the city in the last week of November.
According to officials, after the trial run, tracks and trains will have to go through several safety tests. There is also a requirement to test the trains for a fixed time period. Then, officials of Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO), the research wing of Indian Railways, will run the trains at nearly 90km/h, 10 per cent more than their maximum sectional speed and recheck the strength of trains, another CMRL official said.Nearly 50 per cent of the overall Metro Rail work has been completed. The elevated corridor is approaching the final stages of construction and a third of the work in the underground section is over. Signaling and electrical work is under progress on the elevated corridor.
Metro Rail – Test Run – on the section Koyambedu – St. Thomas Mount (Parankimalai )
Chennai Metro rail is progressing with its ambitious project at the cost of Rs. 6,600 Crore which is expected to give the city public an exciting option of good and fast connection on travel between the city points.There are 2 routes covering a distance of 45 km. The first one is between Washermanpet to Chennai Airport and the second one between Chennai Central Railway Station and St. Thomas Mount. Part of the route will be in subway under tunneled routs and the other part will be above the ground level. Construction of all linking stations is in progress.
The Koyambedu to St. Thomas Mount route covers a distance of 11 km and will be on the ground level & above. The track-work & electrification arrangements are nearing completion. The test-run is planned next month.42 trains will be run. 9 trains have been imported from Brazil. The first train from Brazil arrived last July. The test run of the train took place last November in Koyambedu metro depot.2 more trains have arrived from Brazil.The balance 33 metro trains are manufactured in Andhra Pradesh. Each train will have 4 coaches and can carry 1200 passengers.Metro is scheduled to run every day at 5am to midnight.
Chennai Metro rail from Koyambedu to Alandur in February to be tested
Chennai Metro train will be tested on the elevated corridor from Koyambedu to Alandur in February. By September, the stretch, comprising seven stations, might be thrown open for public. Chennai Metro Rail, built at a cost of Rs. 14,600 crore, will run across a 45-km stretch criss-crossing the city; half of this network will be on an elevated platform and the other half underground.It will have two corridors – one linking Washermenpet to Airport and the other, Chennai Central to St. Thomas Mount.Earlier, CMRL decided to conduct the trial run for Stage 1 of the project from Koyambedu to St. Thomas Mount, a distance of 11 km. But owing to delays in the civil work, they will now carry out this run only between Koyambedu to Alandur.
The first train, manufactured in Sao Paulo in Brazil, arrived in July and its test run was carried out on the 800 metre test-track located within the Koyambedu depot last November. Subsequently, two trains reached the city in the last week of November.According to officials, after the trial run, tracks and trains will have to go through several safety tests.Nearly 50 per cent of the overall Metro Rail work has been completed. The elevated corridor is approaching the final stages of construction and a third of the work in the underground section is over. Signaling and electrical work is under progress on the elevated corridor.
Platforms for Metro Train Railway Station – 20 Crore
The Transportation and the Development policy organizations has suggested to the Metro train department that, for the ease of the people in the Chennai Metro Train stations, the platforms has to be constructed under the value of about 20 Crore. The Metro train work for the route of Koyambedu to ParangiMalai was fastened, in order to run the train during March of next year and the work is almost at its final stage.
The work is commencing in two ways: high level and subway. The high level station is framed in Koyambedu and also the crossing between these two levels is arranged in the Koyambedu station via platform. The escalators are fitted across the travel between the two levels. Since the walking area is near the Koyambedu vegetable market, in order to reach the Poonamallee road sky platform is planned to build across.The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy has suggested building up the platform for the pedestrians. Since there is over crowd and transport near Koyambedu Metro Train station, the platform has to build at 500 meters apart from the railway track. Using this platform public, can reach the metro train station without any difficulty.
Metro Rail launch will be delayed
Metro Rail services between Koyambedu-St Thomas Mount line was supposed to begin from July 2014. Now the line is likely to be opened only in October.Sources said contracts to construct the stations with Consolidated Construction Consortium Ltd (CCCL) are on the verge of falling apart as the company failed to meet the deadline — a serious setback for Chennai Metro Rail Ltd, which intended the first corridor to be the project’s showpiece.CCCL should have completed the elevated viaducts and stations in the corridor this month so trials could begin early January, according to the original plan. The transit system can be opened to the public only after three months of intensive trials because, unlike suburban trains, the metro rakes will be automated and work on pre-set information.
CCCL was in 2010 and 2011 awarded contracts for Rs 300 crore to design and build elevated metro stations in Koyambedu at CMBT, Arumbakkam, Vadapalani, Ashok Nagar, Sidco, Alandur and St Thomas Mount, but the work by the firm has ground to a crawl.Only a handful of workers remain at the St Thomas Mount station site and they appear to have little to do. At some sites, CCCL is three months behind schedule.The company has also won contracts for elevated stations in Guindy, Little Mount and Officers Training Academy, but it has more time to complete work there.CCCL has completed structural work in Koyambedu, CMBT, Vadapalani, Arumbakkam and Ashok Nagar and has started interior work. But it is a long way from completing the basic structure for the stations at Sidco, Alandur and St Thomas Mount though it bagged the contracts over two years ago.
Chennai Metro Rail Station in Chennai Central will have Multiple points of access
Chennai Metro Rail Station in Chennai Central will have six entry/exit points for access to Southern Railway, suburban and MRTS stations, Ripon Buildings and Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital. A CMRL official said, “We will create footpaths for the convenience of pedestrians who may want to switch from one mode of transport to another.”
There will be adequate parking, over three layers, for about 500 cars and 1,000 two-wheelers.
Chennai Metro Rail, being built at a cost of Rs. 14,600 crore, will have two corridors — one, connecting Washermenpet to the airport via Chennai Central and the other from Chennai Central to St. Thomas Mount. Chennai Central Metro station will be the hub that will connect both these corridors.In a joint venture, Afcons and Transtonnelstroy bagged the contract worth Rs. 1,566 crore from CMRL to construct Chennai Central Metro along with eight other stations.
Airport check in at the metro rail station
Chennai Metro Rail Limited plans to introduce airport check-in facility at the Central Metro station. According to CMRL officials, passengers can complete check-in procedures, collect their boarding passes at this station, take the Metro to the airport, get security clearance at the terminal and board the flight.
There is a five-level terminal Metro Rail station, spread over 17,300 sq. m., coming up at the airport. But Metro Rail work at the airport stands suspended as CMRL terminated the contract awarded to Lanco Infratech Limited due to delay in execution of the work.If the work resumes soon at the airport Metro station and its progresses as per schedule at the Chennai Central Metro station, then the airport-rail link will be a reality in Chennai by 2015.
CMRL to conduct trial run between Koyambedu and Ashok Nagar in January 2014
The Metro Rail track between Koyambedu and St. Thomas Mount stations has been laid for nine kilometres. An 11-km track have been laid between the two stations. The laying of track on this stretch began nearly one-and-a-half years ago. Work on the remaining two kilometres will be completed by January 2014. The overhead traction is also nearing completion. Chennai Metro Rail, being built at a cost of Rs. 14,600 crore, will have two corridors — one that runs from Chennai Central to St. Thomas Mount and the other from Washermenpet to Chennai airport.
CMRL plans to conduct a trial run from Koyambedu to Alandur by January next year so this stretch can become operational by mid-2014.The first train that arrived from Sao Paulo, Brazil, late in May, has been tested on the 800-metre test track in the depot at Koyambedu.Soon after the track work along Koyambedu-St. Thomas Mount is completed, it will be tested on the elevated path. The trial run is expected to be done in January 2014.
Smart cards to be offered by Chennai Metro Rail Limited
Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) will offer smartcards for regular users and tokens for one-time users. CMRL will be able to monitor their patronage in real time with this system.
Last month, CMRL held a workshop on fare collection. Officials from the state transportation authority, MTC, Southern Railway, Centre for Railway Information Systems, Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority, IRCTC, call taxi operators and representatives of bus ticket booking websites attended it. Metro rail had proposed a common smart card for electronic fare collection as per international standards. "The challenge is to split the revenue with the department concerned. We are waiting for a response from others," said the CMRL official.
Chennai Metro Rail completes its first tunnel
Chennai Metro Rail has completed its tunnel from Nehru Park to Egmore, a distance of 948 meters. This work which was done by tunnel boring machine (TBM) was launched in July 2012.The TBM reached Egmore station last week. The other TBM has completed about 720 metres, and it may be a while before it arrives at Egmore. The assembling of another TBM that will tunnel from Pachaiyappa’s College to Kilpauk has begun.
The two TBMs employed at Nehru Park station were shipped from China, and Chinese workers are also here to operate these machines as part of an MoU signed between CMRL and joint ventures, Larsen & Toubro and Shanghai Urban Construction Group.The TBMs are usually operated at a speed of 6-10 metres a day and soil conditions play an important role in determining their speed. If the soil is loose, then the speed of the TBM may be reduced.Chennai Metro Rail, built at a cost of Rs. 14,600 crore, will span 45 km. Of the 32 stations, 19 will be underground and the others elevated.
Metro Rail completes track laying between Koyambedu and Ashok Nagar
Metro Rail has completed the track laying between Koyambedu and Ashok Nagar stations. The Metro Rail track between Koyambedu and St. Thomas Mount stations has been laid for nine kilometres. An 11-km track has to be laid between the two stations.Officials inspected the track on a motor trolley recently. “Usually, we inspect a track by running motor trolley over it to check if the track is fit to carry a train. After this, we complete the electrical and signaling work,” said another official.
Chennai Metro Rail, being built at a cost of Rs. 14,600 crore, will have two corridors — one that runs from Chennai Central to St. Thomas Mount and the other from Washermenpet to Chennai airport.CMRL plans to conduct a trial run from Koyambedu to Alandur by March next year so this stretch can become operational by mid-2014. The first train that arrived from Sao Paulo, Brazil, late in May, has been tested on the 800-metre test track in the depot at Koyambedu. Soon after the track work along Koyambedu-St. Thomas Mount is completed, it will be tested on the elevated path. The trial run is expected to be done in March 2014.
The cars will have Automatic Train Protection (ATP) and will be run
on Automatic Train Operation (ATO) mode.
Metro Rail will be taken to Koyambedu in 3 days
Two more Metro Rail trains manufactured in Brazil have reached Chennai Port and will be taken to Koyambedu within the next two-three days.In all, eight rakes were unloaded using a 125 metric tonne mobile crane, according to a Chennai Metro Rail spokesman. They will be loaded on vehicles and shipped to the Metro rail depot in Koyambedu in three days.
Baggage scanners at Chennai metro rail stations
It is well known that the Chennai metro rail stations will start functioning in the first quarter of 2014. Here, the passengers will have to scan their baggage before entering the train. The officials at CMRL (Chennai Metro Rail Limited) stated that scanning will be done in order to ensure safety of all commuters.They also added that they have called for tenders to install such x-ray baggage scanners. Large stations may have two stations, whereas the normal ones will have just one.
Two more trains for Chennai Metro Rail arrives at Chennai harbour
Two more trains for Chennai Metro Rail sailed into Chennai Port. The second and third train were shipped from Sao Paolo in Brazil in the last week of October.Just as in the case of the first train, which arrived from Brazil on May 31 and was subsequently taken to the depot in Koyambedu, these two trains will also go through various tests.The test run for the first train was conducted in the first week of November in the 800-metre test track in the depot. Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) official “We will continue to the test the first train for the next few months. The other two trains will also go through static and dynamic tests and be checked for the effective functionality of the air-conditioning, traction system, air compressor and electricity.The fourth and fifth trains are in various stages of completion.Chennai Metro Rail, being built at a cost of Rs. 14,600 crore, will have a total of 42 trains manufactured by France-based Alstom Transport. Of these, nine will be made in Brazil and the rest at the special economic zone, Sri City in Andhra Pradesh.
Metro Train Track concreting done Vadapalani- Koyambedu
Between Vadapalani and Koyambedu station a total of 9944 meter plinth track concreting work was completed and 7500 meter track laying work too was completed. Welding work for 1650 joints have been done. The railways handed over 6000 meters of track-work other contractors, according to sources.
Washarmenpet Tunneling Work on Underground Railway yet to be finished
The major concerning process of underground rail project was yet to be finished soon and to be launched shortly after the current year completion and the work is finished shortly through skilled Labours. The tunnel work is based on ring installation where the Train passe through. As on Date the 1st TBM Drive at Washemanpet has completed 227 rings at an average of 6.5 rings per day . The TBM has crossed the MES land and entered into residential area. 1st TBM is expected to reach next station Mannadi by March 2013.And as per the Date the 2nd TBM drive has completed 46 rings at an average of 3.0 rings.
The underground trains are yet to be launched soon and the train equipment are imported from the leading foreign company.by the officials information the transportation will begin from 2014.
