Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has missed yet another deadline for six stations on the Arcot Road stretch of its Phase II network, and the stations are now likely to open only by March 2027 — nearly ten months behind schedule, The Hindu reported on Thursday, October 29.

Source: The Hindu (via Jagran English)

6stations delayed on the Arcot Road stretch
~10 monthsbehind the original deadline
95%platform work completed
March 2027new expected opening

The six stations are Alapakkam, Karambakkam, Valasaravakkam, Alwarthirunagar, Saligramam Warehouse and Saligramam, on the Poonamallee–Vadapalani corridor. Trains already run over Arcot Road, but commuters in neighbourhoods such as Alapakkam, Virugambakkam, Valasaravakkam and Saligramam still cannot board at a station near their homes.

Source: Chennaionline

Why the work has slipped

CMRL officials cited a severe labour shortage during the election period from March to June this year, and engineering challenges on the double-decker corridor, where the elevated structures of Corridors 4 and 5 run side by side and building platforms between Alapakkam and Alwarthirunagar proved especially demanding. Platform work is about 95 per cent complete, and work is now focused on concourses, entry and exit structures and system integration.

Construction is expected to finish by January 2027, after which signalling work will take about two more months. One official, however, warned that completing the signalling work even by March 2027 would be difficult, and that the opening of the six stations could slip further.

Safety clearance expires on October 31

The delay also forces CMRL to seek an extension of its provisional authorisation from the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) for the Porur–Vadapalani stretch. The CRS had cleared the Poonamallee–Porur stretch with no speed restrictions, but gave only provisional authorisation for Porur–Vadapalani, with trains running in manual mode at speeds capped at 40 kmph. In a letter issued in May, the CRS said the provisional authorisation was only up to October 31, 2026, and that CMRL should approach it for regular authorisation after completing all pending works.

What happens next turns on two dates: whether the CRS extends the provisional clearance beyond October 31, and whether construction and signalling can hold the January and March 2027 targets. Until the six stations open, Arcot Road commuters will keep watching trains pass overhead while travelling by road to the stations that are open.