Chennai: The first stretch of metro phase-2 from Poonamallee Bypass to Vadapalani (14.6km) is just days away from opening, after the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) issued the mandatory authorisation for commissioning the line. However, initial operations will be subject to restrictions. According to CMRL, trains will run at 15-minute intervals between Poonamallee Bypass and Porur Junction metro stations.Between Porur Junction and Vadapalani metro stations, only one train in each direction will operate at a time, at a 20-minute frequency, with speeds capped at 25kmph, lower than the usual average of 35kmph. As a result, the end-to-end journey is expected to take around 35 minutes. Once passengers reach Vadapalani metro, they will have to take the skywalk to reach Phase-1 Vadapalani metro to board a metro train at the station or exit. The CRS approval comes with a key condition: operations between Porur Junction and Vadapalani can begin only after the completion of 26 deck slabs on the double-decker section of Corridor-5, expected by March 25.“The approval was given for the entire stretch, but the condition is that we must complete 26 deck slabs on the double-decker line before commissioning,” CMRL said. The 14.6km stretch, part of the 26.1km Corridor-4 (Lighthouse–Poonamallee Bypass) under the 118.1km phase-2 project, has 17 elevated stations. When services begin, only 11 stations — including 10 between Poonamallee Bypass and Porur Junction, and Vadapalani — will open.
