Tunnelling for Chennai Metro Rail’s Phase II Project begins on Royapettah-R.K. Salai stretch

Chennai Metro Rail Phase II project progress, including tunnel boring machine launch and upcoming stations, reviewed by Minister.

Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) began tunnelling in Royapettah on Sunday morning, with tunnel boring machine (TBM) ‘Bhavani’ making its way towards R.K. Salai.

Youth Welfare and Sports Development Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin launched the TBM and also reviewed the Chennai Metro Rail’s Phase II and other upcoming projects, including the common ticketing system, Airport-Kilambakkam, Koyambedu-Avadi, and Poonamallee-Parandur stretches, and Coimbatore and Madurai Metros.

In the expansive Phase II Project, an underground station will come up at Royapettah at a cost of ₹250 crore as part of corridor 3 (Madhavaram to SIPCOT). The Royapettah Metro station, to be built under Westcott Road at a depth of 21.5 m, will be 150 m long and 22 m wide. According to CMRL officials, a total of four TBMs will be launched from the site. Of these, two will bore towards R.K. Salai and two towards Thousand Lights.

“The TBM ‘Bhavani’, which has commenced boring work, will take about seven months to travel 910 m to reach R.K. Salai. The machines will encounter a combination of clay and weathered rock on this stretch,” an official said. In a few weeks, the second TBM will also start making its way towards R.K. Salai.

Corridor 3, which predominantly has an underground network covering important locations such as Madhavaram, Ayanavaram, Purasawalkam, Nungambakkam, Thousand Lights, Royapettah, and Adyar, may become fully operational in another four years.

At Adyar, both TBMs, which began drilling at Greenways Road, have crossed the banks of the Adyar and are heading towards the Adyar Metro station. But the progress of the machines has been slow ever since they hit the rock, officials said.

Mr. Udhayanidhi Stalin inspected the Phase II Project work at the Alapakkam Metro station — a part of corridor 4 (Light House to Poonamallee), where double-decker construction is being carried out. This stretch will be built for 3.75 km, with stations including Alwarthirunagar, Valasarawakkam, Karambakkam, and Alapakkam.