CHENNAI: Can someone travelling from Guduvanchery reach the IT corridor near Perungudi without navigating traffic? Or is there a less hassle and more affordable way for a Nanganallur resident to reach Madras University? For years, the answer was largely no. Not anymore. The missing 4.5-km stretch between Velachery and St Thomas Mount left a gap in Chennai's Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS), forcing commuters to switch to buses or autos for the final leg of their journey. Especially for south Chennai and the city's southern suburbs, the long wait has finally borne fruit.
"It's a great value for people of Tambaram, Chromepet and Chitlapakkam. Most of us travel to the city for our jobs, and this link will now save us a lot of travel time," said activist Dayanand.
The change could be particularly noticeable for commuters who earlier relied on long bus routes such as the 21G to travel from suburbs like Tambaram towards central city areas. During peak hours, those journeys often meant long waits in traffic.
Now, a commuter boarding a suburban train at Tambaram, Chromepet or even Chengalpattu can get down at St Thomas Mount and switch to an MRTS train towards Velachery, Perungudi or Taramani, linking the Grand Southern Trunk (GST) Road corridor directly with the IT belt along OMR.
"Connecting the GST Road corridor with the OMR IT belt will not just ease travel for office-goers but could also reduce traffic," Dayanand added.
"It's a relief," said Pravin, a designer whose commute is between MMTC Colony in Madipakkam and Guduvanchery. "I usually ride my bike till St Thomas Mount and then take the suburban train. Now I don't need that bike ride, which means less travel time and lower daily expenses."
Residents of neighbourhoods such as Nanganallur, Madipakkam and areas west of Medavakkam Main Road, including Moovarasanpettai, find the change simpler but equally useful. The new Adambakkam and Puzhuthivakkam MRTS stations bring rail connectivity closer to these dense residential pockets.
"Both St Thomas Mount and Guindy are far for us. Puzhuthivakkam station will make my college commute much easier," said Lalitha, a Moovarasanpettai resident.
At the centre of these commute patterns is St Thomas Mount station. Already served by the suburban railway and Chennai Metro, the addition of MRTS services turns it into one of the few locations in the city where three rail systems intersect.
St Thomas Mount will be second only to the Central metro hub. The Mount connects Beach–Tambaram suburban services, MRTS, the Central–Airport Metro line, and the upcoming Madhavaram–Sholinganallur Metro corridor, while the Central hub links multiple suburban and metro corridors.
However, concerns remain with the city's suburban rail system carrying 9–10 lakh passengers daily, while MRTS accounts for around one lakh passengers. Activists feel the current frequency may not be enough.
At present, about 43 pairs of MRTS services are planned on the extended corridor using nine-car trains capable of carrying around 2,500 passengers per trip. "The number of services must increase once the new link begins attracting commuters," Dayanand said.
For a project that remained incomplete for nearly two decades, the final 4.5-km stretch may appear modest on the map. But by linking two busy rail corridors, with St Thomas Mount as a key interchange point, it quietly changes how several everyday journeys across south Chennai can now be made.