Construction of Madurai Metro likely to complete by end of 2027

Madurai, India (Metro Rail Today): Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) conducted a meeting with all stakeholders ahead of preparing the detailed project report (DPR) on 6th April 2023 in Madurai. "If all goes well, construction work of the metro should be completed by the end of 2027," said M A Siddique, Managing Director, CMRL.

"The Madurai Metro railway project will be implemented with a vision of 100 years. Of the 31-kilometre stretch from Thirumangalam to Othakadai, 26 kilometres will be constructed as elevated flyovers and five kilometres as underground," Siddique said.

"As Madurai is an ancient city, to preserve its heritage, the route from Goripalayam to Vasantha Nagar in front of Meenakshi Amman temple will be tunnelled under Vaigai river. Bores will be dug every two kilometres on the route while soil test and seepage test will be done before the DPR," he said.

"As of now, as many as 14 stations are planned on the elevated route and four stations underground. A station connecting Madurai railway station, Periyar bus stand and Meenakshi Amman temple will be constructed. In the feasibility report, apart from the Othakadai - Thirumanagalam stretch, two more routes were identified - Airport to Kattupulinagar and Manalur to Nagamala Pudukottai," he said. In the initial phase, the Madurai metro will be operated with three coaches at an interval of five to ten minutes.

Asked about the stations, Siddique said that a station should not be built at a particular place just because land is available there, but based on the transportation needs of the people. Hence, the number of stations will be decided at the end of DPR. On the funding pattern of the project, he said the Rs 8,500 crore project will be implemented with central and state governments contributing 20% each and external financial institutions contributing 60% in line of other metro projects.

"A metro station at Madurai international airport connecting the city will be planned in the second phase of Madurai metro rail project," he added.

He said the meeting was primarily held to enlist the support of stakeholder departments for preparation of DPR and sharing of data besides providing necessary information as well as obtaining permissions for doing geological and topological surveys. "There will be one more round of meeting with stakeholders later towards the finalisation of DPR," he informed.

For more details, please explore the Madurai Metro page of Metro Rail Today.