Rail users relieved, 10-yr wait ends for crucial MRTS link

The homemaker was not alone. Numerous residents of Nanganallur, Puzhuthivakkam and Adambakkam were glad that decks were cleared for establishing MRTS link in their area. For them, it has been a 10-year wait for the project to complete, something their neighbours on the other side of Velachery- Adambakkam Link Road have been resisting.

Their wish could come true in a couple of years if the state government expedites land acquisition. Southern Railway (SR) officials estimate that a year-and-a-half would be required to establish the 500-metre link and complete the project, which now ends abruptly near the Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple in Thillai Ganga Nagar.

A senior official told DT Next, “Unlike the balanced cantilever technology used by Chennai Metro Rail, we construct pillars and girders simultaneously.” After completing the structure, the tracks must be laid and communication-cum-signaling infrastructure developed before conducting trial run on the corridor, he added. Currently, the officials are more concerned about the speed with which the state government would acquire the land.

At least another 35 per cent land must be acquired and about Rs 150 crore would be required to complete the project, most of which would be spent on compensation to the landowners who would be paid as per the Right to Fair Compensation and Land Acquisition Act, 2014, said the official.

“The court has not specified the compensation. We are not sure if the district collector would pay more or less than what the donors had demanded in the private negotiation committee meeting,” said the railway official. The high court had delivered the final verdict after the private negotiation committee, which failed to end the deadlock, submitted its report.

Once completed, a circular rail link would be established, and St Thomas Mount would emerge as another rail hub where the metro, EMU, MRTS and express trains would converge. The Southern Railway estimates that the link would increase MRTS patronage by up to 30 per cent, and has an ambitious plan to develop a multi-tier rail corridor at Mount station.

The track is laid on single pillars along the median of the Inner Ring Road (IRR) from MBI Road to St. Thomas Road for about 3.5 km.

 All three stations on the stretch will be elevated

 Puzhuthivakkam and Adambakkam RTS stations - two intermediate stations to be constructed

 Up to Rs 150 crore would be required to establish the 500-metre link

Originally, the line was meant to cross St Thomas Mount and run all the way up to Manali via Anna Nagar. It was terminated at St Thomas Mount after TN implemented Chennai Metro Rail project, which is currently operational from Mount to Central via Anna Nagar.

Once completed, the Beach-Tambaram EMU and Beach-Velachery MRTS lines would meet at St Thomas Mount. The link is currently available only at Park, Fort and Beach stations. People in the southern suburbs like Velachery, Adambakkam and Nanganallur would have access to Beach-Tambaram EMU line via the city airport.