Nehru Park-Shenoy Nagar will be single line for now

Talking to media persons before the commencement of the safety inspection by Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) KA Manoharan, who arrived for a two-day audit on Wednesday morning, CMRL managing director Pankaj Kumar Bansal said the down line from Koyambedu to Nehru Park measuring 7.63 km was fully ready for operation, but only 4.5 km of the up line (till Shenoy Nagar) was ready till now. 

He said the remaining part of the section would be opened along with Chennai Central and Egmore stations which is expected to be ready by end of the year. In simple terms, trains would run simultaneously in both tunnels from Koyambedu to Shenoy Nagar beyond which only one train would be operated up to Nehru Park. 

A senior CMRL officer told DTNext that the restriction has been imposed for want of a crossover at Nehru Park. “After Shenoy Nagar, the next crossover is only at Central Station Hence, a train from Koyambedu cannot afford to cross Shenoy Nagar till the previous one returns from Nehru Park,” the officer explained. 

CMRL sources well versed with the technical know-how of the system estimated that it takes 17 minutes for a train to complete a round trip between Shenoy Nagar and Nehru Park. So, the train frequency would be reduced accordingly. Bansal said they would approach the state and central governments to finalise the date of inauguration of commercial run as soon as the CMRS clears the route. 

CMRL has made some technological changes in its tracks on Koyambedu-Nehru stretch to minimise vibration caused by train movement while passing along medical institutions like Kilpauk Hospital. “We have made some technological changes to tracks so that vibrations would not be felt in hospitals where delicate equipment like microscopes would be used,” Bansal explained.