Chennai: Chief minister C Joseph Vijay on Wednesday travelled in metro trains, including a driverless train on the yet-to-be inaugurated Poonamallee Bypass-Vadapalani corridor, and reviewed the progress of the city’s phase-II metro project.Vijay travelled on the phase-I network from Government Estate, where he bought a paper ticket at the station before boarding the train to Nandanam. He greeted fellow passengers and Chennai Metro Rail Ltd (CMRL) staff on his way to the platform, and interacted with commuters during the journey.At Nandanam, the CM visited CMRL headquarters, where officials briefed him on the progress of phase-I and the ongoing 118.1km phase-II project. He also inspected the backup operations control centre in the building.He later visited Kathipara Junction, where he took a construction lift to inspect the phase-II viaduct being built above the existing phase-I line, a complex engineering section.Vijay then travelled to Porur and boarded a driverless metro train for a trial ride to Poonamallee Bypass before returning to Porur. He waved to the public gathered outside the station near Porur. The 14.6km Poonamallee Bypass-Vadapalani stretch, the first section of phase-II to be completed, has received safety clearances but is yet to be opened for passenger services as the Centre is yet to announce an inauguration date.CMRL managing director and finance secretary M A Siddique, project director T Archunan and other senior officials accompanied the chief minister during the visit.
