Gleaming bluish-silver- coloured metro trains will now welcome those exiting the Chennai Airport as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa flagged off the first metro train on the 10 km Koyambedu-Alandur stretch here on Monday.The CM kicked off the services through video conferencing from Fort Saint George, the seat of State Government.
The train, gliding over the city’s skylines and elevating Chennai to the elite club of cities in the country, took 18 minutes to cover the stretch, which buses and taxis usually covered in 45 minutes. The Koyambedu-Alandur stretch belongs to the first phase of the Metro Rail which has two corridors of 23 km and 22 km respectively.
With the metro train in place, Chennaites are making a quantum jump in the way they commute in the city. The automatic fare collection and smart card system elevate the commuters to global levels which are seen in cities like Kula lumpur, Singapore and Hong Kong, according to a senior Chenno Metro Rail Corporation ltd official.
“Once the entire work of the first phase is over, visitors to Chennai can escape from the fleecing by auto rickshaw drivers who are a law unto themselves in the city,” said Abhijit Nakulan, a corporate executive, who was waiting at Alandur Metro Station for his first ride in the train.The Phase I of 45 kms, would have 32 stations once it is completed. The Chennai metro project, phase I, is now expected to cost Rs 20000 crore as against an initial estimate of Rs 14,600 crore. The Phase I would have two corridors -- Washermenpet to Airport -- 23.1 kms and another one from Chennai Central to St.Thomas Mount -- 22 kms.