Jayalalithaa inaugurates 2nd elevated corridor of Chennai Metro

[rahul1117kumar]

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister today inaugurated services on the second elevated corridor of Chennai Metro Rail Project here and lauded the Centre for supporting development in the state. “I acknowledge support of the government of India in implementation of the Metro Rail project,” she said while inaugurating the project from the Secretariat through video conferencing. The second elevated corridor covers a distance of 8.6 km from the Airport to Little Mount Station. This stretch covers stations at Airport, Meenambakkam, Nanganallur Road, Guindy and Little Mount, besides St Thomas Mount Metro Station on Corridor II of Metro Rail.

Noting the presence of Union Ministers Venkaiah Naidu at the event, the Chief Minister said she had no doubt he would continue to steadfastly support Tamil Nadu’s development. Jayalalithaa also said that Union Minister of State Pon Radhakrishnan, who was also present there, had consistently endeavoured to bring into Tamil Nadu large development projects. The first metro train, piloted by woman loco pilot Amsaveni, was flagged off by Jayalalithaa and Union ministers from the Airport station. Jayalalithaa had inaugurated the 10.15 km elevated Koyambedu-Alandur section on June 29 last year.

She said services on the 1.28 km stretch from Alandur to St Thomas Mount would also commence soon after obtaining clearance from Commissioner for Metro Rail Safety. When that becomes functional, the entire 20 km elevated sector of Chennai Metro Rail Project would be operational. It would connect with suburban train services and mofussil and other bus services. Trains to be soon run on a loop line at Alandur would ensure direct connections from Koyambedu to the airport, without having to change at Alandur, she said.

“All these are steps towards realising my vision of making Chennai a truly modern city of the 21st century with all amenities for its residents,” Jayalalithaa said. She expressed confidence that the share of public transport in Chennai would go up substantially with seamless integration of buses, suburban train services, air services, metro rail and eventually the monorail. Thanking Japan for its support, she said it was India’s and Tamil Nadu’s largest development partner today and that she was confident that Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) would continue support for the CMRP.

“We also request support for other important projects in the pipeline like the 400 million litres per day Desalination Project near Chennai, Chennai Peripheral Ringroad Project and Tamil Nadu Investment Promotion Programme Phase II,” she said. She congratulated all those associated with the project, “who have brought a modern mass transit system to the city of Chennai.”

Jayalalithaa inaugurates 2nd elevated corridor of Chennai Metro - India.com

 

[dinee]

[font=Georgia,]Chief Minister to inaugurate line; fare from [/font]
[font=Georgia,]Koyambedu to airport will be Rs. 50[/font]



[font=Georgia,]The day is finally here. The second stretch of Chennai Metro Rail, connecting Little Mount and Chennai airport, will be open to the public on Wednesday with Chief Minister Jayalalithaa will inaugurate it at 11.30 a.m. through video conferencing. Union Minister for Urban Development Venkaiah Naidu and Union Minister of State for Shipping, Road Transport, and Highways Pon Radhakrishnan will also participate. Sources said Mr. Naidu will also be taking a ride in the Metro Rail from Little Mount to Chennai airport.[/font]
[font=Georgia,]The opening of the second stretch comes more than a year after the first service was launched from Koyambedu to Alandur. The second stretch covers 8.6 km with six stations — Little Mount, Guindy, Alandur, Nanganallur Road, Meenambakkam and Chennai airport. Alandur station will be a junction with two levels linking the stretches — Koyambedu to Alandur (upper level) and Little Mount to Chennai airport (lower level). Commuters from Koyambedu travelling to Chennai airport will have to change trains at Alandur. Commuters from Little Mount or Chennai airport travelling to Koyambedu will have to switch trains too. Sources said the fare for travel from Koyambedu to Chennai airport, a distance of about 15 km, will be Rs. 50.[/font]
[font=Georgia,]Currently, the fares range between Rs. 10 and 40 and for special class, from Rs. 20-80. St. Thomas Mount station too will be inaugurated on Wednesday along with the second stretch, but sources said it is yet to receive the mandatory approval from Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS). “We want to finish the inauguration together. Once CMRS approval is obtained, the station will be open to the public in a few days,” an official said.[/font]
[font=Georgia,]K. Chandramouli, a resident of Mogappair, who travels to the airport every day for work said he had been waiting for the second stretch to open. “I have already been using the Metro to travel from Koyambedu to Alandur for the last one year. I leave my vehicle at Koyambedu and travel till Alandur and take a bus to the airport but now, I can easily travel all the way up to the airport," he said.[/font]
[font=Georgia,]Hari Ramamoorthy of Nanganallur said. “I often land in a late-night flight and pay a huge amount for a cab. Now, the Metro station is only minutes away from my residence. I can easily take it," he said.[/font]

sources:http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/metro-stretch-opens-today/article9129923.ece?homepage=true#comments