Work on extending Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) from Velachery to St. Thomas Mount has been progressing steadily, except for the delay in the acquisition of land near St. Thomas Mount.
A senior official of Southern Railway said the construction of two stations at Ullagaram-Puzhuthivakkam and Adambakkam were already under way on the southern arm of the Inner Ring Road and piers for elevated tracks have been constructed for a major portion of the stretch.
A small stretch that links the MRTS to the St. Thomas Mount station has not been completed due to delay in acquisition of land for a distance of just 500 metres, he added. Lank acquisition, close to St. Thomas Mount station, is held up because the residents have gone to court. He said: “The Madras high court gave the go-ahead for land acquisition but new cases filed by residents seeking increased compensation were filed citing the new Land Acquisition Act. While Southern Railway is ready to pay the additional compensation, the State government is yet to take steps to acquire and hand over the land.”
The completion of the 5-kilometre stretch from Velachery to St. Thomas Mount, that costs Rs. 495.74 crore, is much awaited, for this route would open up multi-dimensional transit options for commuters, and take forward the ideal of integration with the Metro and suburban train services.
Also, the railway authorities expect the extension would help increase the commuter population on the MRTS stretch.
Talking about the integration of the three routes, the official said it would be a three-layered station comprising the suburban, MRTS and Metro services and is to be constructed by Chennai Metro Rail Ltd. (CMRL).
A senior official of the Revenue Department said that they were engaged in flood-relief work and the land acquisition process had been put on hold. Explaining the progress of the extension work, the official said 46 per cent of the work (including laying tracks and installing power cable network), that cost around Rs. 300 crore, had been completed.
Railways have fixed March 2017 as the tentative completion date.
Source: News item in The Hindu dtd 28.11.2015 by Mr. Srikanth
A senior official of Southern Railway said the construction of two stations at Ullagaram-Puzhuthivakkam and Adambakkam were already under way on the southern arm of the Inner Ring Road and piers for elevated tracks have been constructed for a major portion of the stretch.
A small stretch that links the MRTS to the St. Thomas Mount station has not been completed due to delay in acquisition of land for a distance of just 500 metres, he added. Lank acquisition, close to St. Thomas Mount station, is held up because the residents have gone to court. He said: “The Madras high court gave the go-ahead for land acquisition but new cases filed by residents seeking increased compensation were filed citing the new Land Acquisition Act. While Southern Railway is ready to pay the additional compensation, the State government is yet to take steps to acquire and hand over the land.”
The completion of the 5-kilometre stretch from Velachery to St. Thomas Mount, that costs Rs. 495.74 crore, is much awaited, for this route would open up multi-dimensional transit options for commuters, and take forward the ideal of integration with the Metro and suburban train services.
Also, the railway authorities expect the extension would help increase the commuter population on the MRTS stretch.
Talking about the integration of the three routes, the official said it would be a three-layered station comprising the suburban, MRTS and Metro services and is to be constructed by Chennai Metro Rail Ltd. (CMRL).
A senior official of the Revenue Department said that they were engaged in flood-relief work and the land acquisition process had been put on hold. Explaining the progress of the extension work, the official said 46 per cent of the work (including laying tracks and installing power cable network), that cost around Rs. 300 crore, had been completed.
Railways have fixed March 2017 as the tentative completion date.
Source: News item in The Hindu dtd 28.11.2015 by Mr. Srikanth
Last edited:
