Porur-Poonamallee Metro Rail service to commence before end of year: CM Stalin

CHENNAI: The Metro Rail line between Porur and Poonamallee would commence before the end of the year, said Chief Minister MK Stalin, who inspected the ongoing tunnelling work for phase 2, on Thursday. He reiterated the request to the Union government to grant approval for proposed Metro Rail projects for Madurai and Coimbatore.

After reviewing the work on the 1.218 km-long tunnel between Greenways Road Metro station and Adyar Metro station on the Kellys – Taramani stretch along with Chennai Metro Rail (CMRL) officials, Stalin said, “Metro Rail service between Poonamallee and Porur would be inaugurated before the end of 2025.”

The Chief Minister has also advised the officials to expedite and complete the remaining works within the stipulated time. “When the works are fully completed, Chennai will set new benchmarks in urban public transport connectivity in India,” Stalin added.

In a social media post, Stalin noted that Metro Rail work in Chennai, which started when late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi was the chief minister and he was the deputy chief minister, has progressed well in the ‘Dravidian model’ regime that he was heading.

He also blamed the previous AIADMK government for the delay in taking up work on the second phase of the project. After his government came to power in 2021, the works were initiated with full funding provided by the State government for the first time in the country, the chief minister said, adding that after the Union government accepted the State’s request and approved the project recently, the project was being executed at a faster pace with the participation of the Centre.

“While inspecting the ongoing works today, I was very delighted to see that the project we started is being implemented today and is expanding further,” the Chief Minister said, requesting the Union government again to approve the Metro Rail projects proposed for Coimbatore and Madurai at the earliest.