CHENNAI: The Panagal Park (PP) Metro station is being constructed in the commercial hub of city, which has been deprived of an efficient transit service till now. However, with the underground station operational in two years, the region, which also suffers heavy vehicular movement and traffic, will get respite by 2027.
The PP Metro, which is 19 metres wide and 319 metres long, is the largest in the underground 2 package from Boat Club station to Kodambakkam. The Metro stations in the line are Boat Club, Nandanam and Kodambakkam.
As per CMRL officials, the length of the station area is around 210 metres, and crossover/junction (where trains can shift tracks) is around 110 metres. The depth of PP station is 26 metres, and overall, 40% of the construction work has been completed.
Five entry points planned in the station are at Sivagnanam Street, Pinjala Subramaniam Street, Prakasam Street (opposite), Bashiyam Street and Nageswaran Road. Due to heavy public movement, multiple entries to the station would help the public navigate the transit facility.
T Archunan, director (projects), said: “The construction of the base slab (lower portion of the station) is over, and the crossover is almost 80% completed. Works related to the concourse and station roof slab are underway.”
ITD Cementation India is building the underground station, and the deadline to complete it is March 2027. In corridor 4 (26.1-km long from Lighthouse to Poonamallee Bypass), another crossover is located in the Lighthouse Metro, which is also an underground station.
Meanwhile, another feature of the PP station is that it has a launching shaft, where the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) can be launched, and also retrieved after completion. In this stretch, another launching shaft is constructed at Lighthouse Metro.
The two TBMs in corridor 4 used here are called Pelican and Peacock. TBM Peacock is roughly located between Panagal Park and Kodambakkam in the downline and is expected to breakthrough around April. TBM Pelican at Kodambakkam is expected to breakthrough around March.
The CMRL official pointed out that confined spaces at the location posed significant challenges in underground construction, and added: “Multiple utility and traffic diversions posed a challenge for the contractor.”
So far, 350 mm waterline, 250 mm and 100 mm water pipeline have been diverted among wet utilities. Several dry utilities from electrical cables, telephone lines and wires are also diverted.