Chennai Metro Rail has begun tunnelling work to connect Perambur Barracks Road and Pattalam through an underground network as part of the 118.9 km Phase II project.

The network is expected to improve mobility for thousands of people commuting to these two areas, home to many small businesses, commercial establishments, and residential buildings.

Perambur Barracks Road and Pattalam are part of Corridor 3 connecting Madhavaram to Siruseri SIPCOT. Commuting to localities like Moolaikadai and Sembiyam in north Chennai, and to Thirumayilai, Adyar, Taramani, Thoraipakkam, Sholinganallur, and SIPCOT in south Chennai, is set to become seamless when train operations start on this corridor.

While the station on Perambur Barracks Road is situated near the Mosque, the Pattalam station is being built near the Mahalakshmi Theatre on Strahans Road. According to officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), the first tunnel boring machine (TBM), which began operations recently, bored through a distance of nearly 600 metres.

“This (underground tunnel) is also built as a stacked tunnel where one line is above the other. We had to chalk out this plan due to a lack of sufficient space at Pattalam. We may touch a maximum depth of about 30 metres in this stretch,” an official said.

Officials are expecting the TBMs to bore through clayey soil and weathered rock in this stretch. The TBM, which is boring under Perambur Barracks Road, would have to bore through residential and commercial complexes before taking a left to enter Strahans Road and arrive at Pattalam. “We are estimating that the first tunnelling drive will be finished in six months,” the official said.

The Tamil Nadu government has been continuously urging the Union government to approve the Coimbatore and Madurai Metro Rail projects, Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu said on Tuesday.

In his Interim Budget speech, he said that when the State requested the Centre’s approval of the detailed project reports (DPRs) for the two projects, the Union government returned the proposals, stating that they were not approved since the populations of Coimbatore and  Madurai were less than 20 lakh. 

The Minister said the State government had given in-principle approval for three extension projects — Chennai airport to Kilambakkam,  Koyambedu to Pattabiram, and Poonamallee to Sunguvarchathiram — and recommended them to the Union government for approval and financial assistance. The administrative sanction for the preliminary work was also given, he added.

The work on developing a bus terminal with an integrated multi-modal transport hub and an office complex on the site of the Broadway bus stand was under way at an estimated cost of ₹823 crore. He said the Chennai Metro Rail Phase II project was progressing well.