Chennai Metro Rail to begin trial run on Phase II network; trains to zip through Poonamallee and Mullaithottam

At 5 p.m. on March 20, if you happen to be on the Poonamallee Bypass, look up, and you will witness the trial run of Chennai Metro Rail’s three-coach train. This will be the first time the train travels on the viaduct from Poonamallee Bypass to Mullaithottam, a distance of about 2.5 km.

At 5 p.m. on March 20, if you happen to be on the Poonamallee Bypass, look up, and you will witness the trial run of Chennai Metro Rail’s three-coach train. This will be the first time the train travels on the viaduct from Poonamallee Bypass to Mullaithottam, a distance of about 2.5 km.

From March 20 onwards, the first train manufactured in Sri City will zip back and forth along this stretch. In the last week of April, trial runs will be conducted on the 9-km stretch from Poonamallee Bypass to Porur Junction.

Commuters have been watching the ₹63,246 crore Phase II project with three corridors take shape across the city. By December 2025, residents of areas including Poonamallee Bypass, Karayanchavadi, Iyyapanthangal, and Porur will be able to hop onto the first small stretch of the Phase II network, between Poonamallee Bypass and Porur Junction of corridor 4. However, these commuters will truly benefit from the system only when the operations of this corridor are extended to Kodambakkam.

According to officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), though trains have been tested on the test track since October 2024, they cannot continue with this process on this track for long. This is because there are speed restrictions on the test track. “On the test track, the trains can go up to 40 kmph but on the viaduct, the train has to be run at a maximum speed of 90 kmph. During the course of these trials on the viaduct, several tests are going to be done to check the train, track, signalling, telecom, and overhead equipment,” an official said.

Sources said that testing on the test track will be different from the trials on the viaduct. It is on the viaduct that trains carrying passengers run, and hence, several elaborate tests will be conducted.

“Among the various aspects that will be checked are: the brake efficiency of the train, whether it moves smoothly despite the changes in the gradient along the viaduct, whether it stays within the specified path and doesn’t veer off the track, whether the train negotiates the curves with precision, and whether there are vibrations and noise. In case there are glitches, corrective measures will have to be taken. At a later stage of the trials, integrated tests with signalling and telecom systems will have to be taken up,” he said.

As these trials continue after March 20, CMRL plans to complete the remaining track and overhead equipment work before the end of April so that the trials are extended till Porur Junction.