Finally, the long wait for passenger travel in the 5-km stretch of the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) between Velachery and St Thomas Mount is likely to end soon. The work in the final leg of this crucial connectivity is expected to be completed in the last quarter of the current financial year, said BG Mallya, General Manager, Southern Railways. This will integrate MRTS with the South BG section and Chennai Metro.

The Velachery to St.Thomas Mount project was approved by the Railway Board with the revised sanctioned estimateof ₹734.01 crore. Railways and the Tamil Nadu government shares the cost in the ratio of 1:2.

Last-leg connectivity

This last-leg connectivity project under the MRTS Phase II extension traverses along the Inner Ring road for 4.35 km and passes through a densely-populated residential area for 500 m to connect with the existing St Thomas Mount Station in the suburban network of Beach to Tambaram.

However, the work in the 5 km stretch got delayed on land acquisition issues, especially with a 500-m stretch between Velachery and St Thomas Mount got caught in a legal battle for years. The Supreme Court gave its decision in favour of the MRTS in 2021.

A signature station

After the legal battle for land acquisition in the approach to St.Thomas Mount Station got resolved in March 2021, the integrated station building for MRTS and CMRL has been constructed for seamless connectivity with the existing suburban network.

The proposed multiple-level St Thomas Mount Metro Rail station is being developed as a ‘signature station’ integrating all the three suburban rail modes. The ground level is for suburban station; level 1 for MRTS and level 2 for Metro Rail. The existing suburban station at ground level can be accessed from the new terminal using a foot overbridge.

Construction of station buildings at Puzhudhivakkam, Adambakkam and St Thomas Mount got completed long back along with most of the foundation work and erection of piers. “We are hopeful that the project will be completed in the last quarter of 2022-23,” Mallya told BusinessLine.

MRTS is an elevated corridor coming under the jurisdiction of the Chennai Division of Southern Railway. It was conceived in the light of expanding city limits with exponential growth in Chennai suburban commuters.

The first phase of the MRTS project from Chennai Beach to Tirumailai (8.66 km) was commissioned in stages during 1991, 1995 and 1997 and the route length of 14.68 km from Chennai Beach to Tiruvanmiyur was opened in 2004.

The Phase II project from Tirumailai to Velachery (11.376 km) was commissioned during the years 2004, 2007 and 2014. The double line between Tiruvanmiyur-Velachery stretch with route length of 4.66 km was opened on November 20, 2007.

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