CMRL completes tunnelling work for 1-km stretch from Kolathur to Srinivasa Nagar

CHENNAI After nearly a year of drilling through weathered and hard rocks, the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has completed the tunnel linking Kolathur to Srinivasa Nagar for the upcoming 118.9-km Phase 2 project. Tunnelling work is under way for the underground sections of the Phase 2 project’s three corridors – Madhavaram to SIPCOT (Corridor 3), Poonamallee to Light House (Corridor 4), and Madhavaram to Sholinganallur (Corridor 5).

The one-km Kolathur-Srinivasa Nagar stretch constitutes a tiny section of the 47-km Corridor 5. Once the entire Corridor 5 is completed in a few years, residents of areas such as Madhavaram, Retteri, Kolathur, Srinivasa Nagar, and Villivakkam could access direct train services to Madipakkam, Kilkattalai, Medavakkam, Kovilambakkam, Perumbakkam, and Sholinganallur, significantly easing mobility.

According to officials of the CMRL, the tunnel boring machine, which began work at Kolathur, encountered several challenges.