Final inspection by Rail Safety Commissioner on second half of March

C Shivakumar
Chennai:

Chennai Metro Rail has submitted all the documents before Commissioner
of Rail Safety (CRS) in Bangalore and it is likely that the final
inspection on the elevated stretch between Koyambedu to Alandur would
be carried out in the second half of March



“We have submitted the final set of documents on Tuesday and the
Commissioner of Rail safety will go through it and then fix a date
which is likely some where in the second half of March,” said a Metro
Rail official.



However, he parried away questions on when the commercial run between
Koyambedu to Alandur would happen stating that the state government
will take a call once the CRS gives his approval.



It is also likely that the initial commercial run would be done
manually and with some of the minor works pending.



“The stations as well as the tracks are technically perfect. The
additional features would be added slowly. All the safety features are
in place,” the Metro rail official said.



He said initially only two entry points in Vadapalani would be put
into use. The work will be going on in other two openings. Those are
additional features which would be in place shortly,” he said.



The works on adding six coaches to the train besides extending the
station will be carried out simultaneously, he added.



He said that by the end of the year the overall elevated stretch from
Little Mount to Airport and Airport to Koyambedu would be ready.



The official also said that the train would be run manually and then
gradually upgraded to fully automatic. “We have all the features
ready. This is being done to help the driver familiarise with the
train operations, so that they are aware of it during the exigencies,”
he said.

He also said the fares would be announced by the state government once
the clearance is being given by CRS.



Meanwhile, work in the underground stretch between Chennai Egmore to
Thirumangalam is gaining ground. Nearly, 300 metres of tunneling work
between Nehru Park to Egmore is pending.



The official said that laying of tracks in the underground stretch has
started and officials believe that the trial run in the underground
stretch between Chennai Egmore and Koyambedu would begin by the end of
June or July 2015.




Metro Meter:

Elevated Stretch                     Completion date

Koyambedu to Alandur                  Ready for CRS inspection

Little Mount to Airport                December 2015


Underground Stretch

Chennai Egmore to Koyambedu             Expected by December 2015

Trial run                               Expected by June/ July 2015