Chennai Metro: The Much-Needed Lifeline For Hassle-Free Urban Commuting

Chennai Metro is one of the most-used transportation systems in the city for mass travel. It connects various crucial landmarks and reduces commuting time significantly. Thanks to its well-thought-out layout, Chennai residents can skip the hassle of traffic and reach their destinations in no time! It won’t be wrong to say that the Chennai Metro project was the much-needed turbo boost that enhanced the urban landscape of Madras city! 

Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) is a joint venture between the government of India and the government of Tamil Nadu. Though the inception of the operational lines happened in 2015, the planning started way back in time. 

In 1931, Chennai had a single sub-network, a single metre gauge line that connected Chennai Beach to Tambaram. Subsequently, in 1985, two more lines were added connecting Chennai Central with Gummidipoondi and Arakkonam. However, a committee was set up and the team concluded that these existing lines were insufficient to combat the growing traffic woes. In 1995, the Phase 1 construction of the Chennai Mass Rapid Transit System commenced. The route runs from Chennai Beach to Thirumayilai. An extension route was added towards Velachery in 2007. Seeing how people were using Chennai metro more frequently, in 2015, the state and central governments decided to add three more lines to extend the network within the city. 

Chennai Metro Network

Chennai metro network is very elaborate and connects most of the residential, industrial and IT areas in the city. You will see several commuters taking the trains from various stations to reach their respective destinations. There is never a dull day when it comes to Chennai metro and the hype is only going to get bigger!

Currently, the Chennai metro operates between two lines which are interconnected in certain stations. The blue line runs from Wimco Nagar Depot to Chennai International Airport and also provides swift access to key landmarks like Marina Beach and Chennai Central Railway Station. The green line runs from Chennai Central to St. Thomas Mount Operational lines, connecting the Guindy IT corridor with Alandur.

Three more operational lines are under construction – the purple line, the orange line and the red line. These new routes promise to connect different bustling neighbourhoods, residential spaces, tourist places and the commercial hubs of Chennai city. 

The Chennai Metro Network is built in such a way that it doesn’t disrupt the roadways of Chennai and also smoothly weaves through the existing plan of the city. It uses the standard gauge railway network with double tracks. The metro routes have a total of 40 stations across the two lines, out of which 22 are underground stations. The elevated stations are 18 in number. You can enter the underground stations through platform screen doors and you’ll also see that they have walkways along with cross passages every 250 metres. These make maintenance and emergency evacuations fairly easy. They have a width of 200 metres and are 20 metres deep from the ground level. 

The elevated platforms have three levels while the underground platforms have two levels. All the stations have refreshing air-conditioning, automatic fare collection systems, equipment for announcements, helpdesks, electronic display boards, maps to help travellers understand routes, escalators and lifts. With world-class modern technological facilities, the Chennai metro makes intercity travelling a breeze. 

Operational Lines

Blue line (Wimco Nagar Depot to Chennai International Airport)

The blue line of the Chennai metro network connects the Wimco Nagar Depot with Chennai International Airport, making airport travel fast and secure. It has a total of 38 stations, out of which 26 were established during the Phase 1 construction while 12 station extensions were added during Phase 2. Out of the 26 that were constructed during Phase 1, 13 have elevated platforms while the other 13 have underground platforms. 

The blue line aims to connect the northeast and southwest ends of the city.

Here is the list of stations – 

Station No.	Name of the Station	Type of Platform	Inter corridor connections
1	Wimco Nagar Depot	Elevated	No
2	Wimco Nagar	Elevated	No
3	Tiruvottiyur	Elevated	No
4	Tiruvottiyur Theradi	Elevated	No
5	Kaladipet	Elevated	No
6	Tollgate	Elevated	No
7	New Washermanpet	Elevated	No
8	Tondiarpet	Underground	No
9	Sir Theagaraya College	Underground	No
10	Washermanpet	Underground	No
11	Mannadi	Underground	No
12	High Court	Underground	No
13	Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. MG Ramachandran Central	Underground	Yes
14	Government Estate	Underground	No
15	LIC	Underground	No
16	Thousand Lights	Underground	No
17	AG – DMS	Underground	No
18	Teynampet	Underground	No
19	Nandanam	Underground	No
20	Saidapet	Underground	No
21	Little Mount	Elevated	No
22	Guindy	Elevated	No
23	Arignar Anna Alandur	Elevated	Yes
24	Nanganallur Road	Elevated	Yes
25	Meenambakkam	Elevated	Yes
26	Chennai International Airport	Elevated	Yes

Extended Routes during Phase 2

Station No.	Extension Stations	Type of Platform
27	Pallavaram	Elevated
28	Kothandam Nagar	Elevated
29	Chromepet	Elevated
30	Mahalakshmi Colony	Elevated
31	Thiru. Vi. Ka Nagar	Elevated
32	Tambaram	Elevated
33	Irumbuliyar	Elevated
34	Peerankaranai	Elevated
35	Perungalathur	Elevated
36	Vandalur	Elevated
37	Arignar Anna Zoological Park	Elevated
38	Kilambakkam	Elevated

Green line (Chennai Central to St Thomas Mount)

The green line is the second route that was established during the Phase 2 construction and runs between Chennai Central and St Thomas Mount. It has a total of 17 stations out of which 9 stations are underground and 8 are elevated stations. The green line aims to connect the central, western and southern ends of Chennai metropolis. 

Here are the stations in the green line – 

Station No.	Name of the Station	Type of Platform	Connections with other Routes/Stations
1.	Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. MG Ramachandran Central	Underground	Blue Line, Chennai Park Suburban, Chennai Park Town, Chennai More Market Suburban
2.	Egmore	Underground	Chennai Egmore Railway Station
3.	Nehru Park	Underground	None
4.	Kilpauk Medical College	Underground	Purple line
5.	Pachaiyappa’s College	Underground	None
6.	Shenoy Nagar	Underground	None
7.	Anna Nagar East	Underground	None
8.	Anna Nagar Tower	Underground	None
9.	Thirumangalam	Underground	None
10.	Koyambedu	Elevated	None
11.	Puratchi Thalaivi Dr J. Jayalalitha CMBT	Elevated	Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus
12.	Arumbakkam	Elevated	None
13.	Vadapalani	Elevated	None
14.	Ashok Nagar	Elevated	None
15.	Ekkattuthangal	Elevated	None
16.	Arignar Anna Alandur	Elevated	Blue line, Red line
17.	St. Thomas Mount	Elevated	Red Line, St. Thomas Mount railway station

Lines under construction

Purple line (Madhavaram Milk Colony to Sirusei SIPCOT 2)

The purple line or line 3 of the Chennai metro network will be constructed as part of the three-line establishment (purple, orange and red) under the Phase 2 plan. As we mentioned earlier, the green line is an extension of the blue line and the purple line along with the orange and red lines will stand as further extensions to cover more routes. The purple line will run from Madhavaram Milk Colony to Sirusei SIPCOT 2 and will have a total of 47 stations – 28 underground and 19 elevated.

The stations to be included in the purple line are – 

Station.No	Name of the Station	Type of Station	Connections with other Routes/Stations
1	Madhavaram Milk Colony	Underground	Red Line
2	Madhavaram High Road	Underground	None
3	Moolakadai	Underground	None
4	Sembiyam	Underground	None
5	Perambur Market	Underground	None
6	Perambur	Underground	Perambur railway station
7	Ayanavaram	Underground	Bus Terminus
8	Otteri	Underground	None
9	Pattalam	Underground	None
10	Perambur Barracks Road	Underground	None
11	Purasaiwakkam	Underground	None
12	Kellys	Underground	None
13	Kilpauk	Underground	Green Line
14	Chetpet	Underground	Chetpet railway station
15	Sterling Road	Underground	None
16	Nungambakkam	Underground	None
17	Anna Flyover	Underground	None
18	Thousand Lights	Underground	Blue Line
19	Royapettah	Underground	None
20	Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai	Underground	None
21	Thirumayilai	Underground	Thirumayilai railway station, Orange Line
22	Mandaiveli	Underground	Bus Terminus
23	Greenways Road	Underground	None
24	Adyar Junction	Underground	None
25	Adyar Depot	Underground	Bus Terminus
26	Indira Nagar, Chennai	Underground	None
27	Thiruvanmiyur	Underground	None
28	Tharamani	Underground	None
29	Nehru Nagar	Elevated	None
30	Kandanchavadi	Elevated	None
31	Perungudi	Elevated	None
32	Thoraipakkam	Elevated	None
33	Mettukuppam	Elevated	None
34	PTC Colony	Elevated	None
35	Okkiyampet	Elevated	None
36	Karapakkam	Elevated	None
37	Okkiyam Thoraipakkam	Elevated	None
38	Sholinganallur	Elevated	Red Line
39	Sholinganallur Lake I	Elevated	None
40	Sholinganallur Lake II	Elevated	None
41	Semmancheri I	Elevated	None
42	Semmancheri I	Elevated	None
43	Gandhi Nagar	Elevated	None
44	Navallur	Elevated	None
45	Siruseri	Elevated	None
46	Siruseri Sipcot I	Elevated	None
47	Siruseri Sipcot II	Elevated	None

Orange Line (Lighthouse to Poonamallee Bypass)

The orange line or line 4 is another extension of the Phase 2 construction plan and extends between Lighthouse to Poonamallee Bypass. The route will have a total of 28 stations with 9 underground stations and 18 elevated stations.

Station No.	Name of the Station	Type of Station	Connections with other Routes/Stations
1	Lighthouse	Underground	None
2	Kutchery Road	Underground	None
3	Thirumayilai	Underground	Thirumayilai railway station, Purple Line
4	Alwarpet	Underground	None
5	Bharathidasan Road	Underground	None
6	Boat Club	Underground	None
7	Nandanam	Underground	Blue Line
8	Panagal Park	Underground	None
9	Kodambakkam	Underground	Kodambakkam railway station
10	Kodambakkam Power House	Underground	None
11	Vadapalani	Underground	Green Line
12	Saligramam	Underground	None
13	Saligramam Ware House	Underground	None
14	Alwarthiru Nagar	Underground	Red Line
15	Valasaravakkam	Underground	Red Line
16	Karambakkam	Underground	Red Line
17	Alapakkam	Underground	Red Line
18	Porur Junction	Underground	None
19	Porur Bypass	Underground	None
20	Thelliyaragaram	Underground	None
21	Iyyapanthangal	Underground	Bus Depot
22	Kattupakkam	Underground	None
23	Kumananchavadi	Underground	None
24	Karayanchavadi	Underground	None
25	Mullaithottam	Underground	None
26	Poonamallee	Underground	Bus Terminus
27	Poonamallee Depot	Underground	None
28	Poonamallee Bypass	Underground	None

Red Line (Madhavaram Milk Colony to Sholinganallur)

The red line or line 5 of the Chennai metro network extends from Madhavaram Milk Colony to Sholinganallur. This line runs over the beautiful Porur and Medavakkam flyovers and will also pass from above the to-be-built flyover between Mugalivakkam and Ramapuram. This line will have a total of 45 stations – 6 underground, 1 at grade level and 38 elevated stations. 

Station No.	Name of the Station	Type of station	Connections with other Routes/Stations
1	Madhavaram Milk Colony	Underground	Purple Line
2	Madhavaram Depot	At-grade	None
3	Assisi Nagar	Elevated	None
4	Manjambakkam	Elevated	None
5	Velmurugan Nagar	Elevated	None
6	Madhavaram Bus Terminus	Elevated	Madhavaram Mofussil Bus Terminus
7	Shastri Nagar, Chennai	Elevated	None
8	Retteri Junction	Elevated	None
9	Kolathur Junction	Underground	None
10	Srinivasa Nagar	Underground	None
11	Villivakkam	Underground	Villivakkam railway station
12	Villivakkam Bus Terminus	Underground	Bus Terminus
13	Villivakkam MTH Road	Underground	None
14	Anna Nagar West	Elevated	Bus Terminus
15	Thirumangalam Junction	Elevated	None
16	Anna Nagar KV	Elevated	None
17	Koyambedu	Elevated	Branch line(extension)
18	Koyambedu Market	Elevated	None
19	Natesan Nagar	Elevated	None
20	Virugambakkam	Elevated	None
21	Alwarthirunagar	Elevated	Orange Line
22	Valasaravakkam	Elevated	Orange Line
23	Karambakkam	Elevated	Orange Line
24	Alapakkam Junction	Elevated	Orange Line
25	Mugalivakkam	Elevated	None
26	Ramapuram	Elevated	None
27	Manapakkam	Elevated	None
28	Chennai Trade Centre	Elevated	None
29	Butt Road	Elevated	None
30	Arignar Anna Alandur	Elevated	Blue Line, Green Line
31	St. Thomas Mount	Elevated	Green Line, St. Thomas Mount railway station
32	Adambakkam	Elevated	None
33	Vanuvampet	Elevated	None
34	Ullagaram	Elevated	None
35	Madipakkam	Elevated	None
36	Kilkattalai	Elevated	None
37	Echangadu	Elevated	None
38	Kovilambakkam	Elevated	None
39	Vellakkal	Elevated	None
40	Medavakkam I	Elevated	None
41	Medavakkam II	Elevated	None
42	Perumbakkam	Elevated	None
43	Classical Tamil Institute	Elevated	None
44	Elcot Park	Elevated	None
45	Sholinganallur	Elevated	Purple Line

The construction of lines 3, 4 and 5 is expected to complete by 2028.

People planning to visit Chennai soon can explore so many places here, including incredible museums that house the artefacts from the past. 

Chennai Metro: Fares and Timings

The Chennai metro fares range from INR 10 to INR 50 depending upon the distance that you are travelling and the routes. From Monday to Saturday, the trains run from 4:30 AM to 11:00 PM.

However, these timings may be extended further under special conditions. For instance, owing to the Indian Premier League (IPL) season, Chennai Metro is expected to run till 1:00 AM at night to avoid traffic woes. 

Future Expansions

The Chennai metro has helped the city avoid traffic jams and reach from point A to point B without sweating bullets. What started as a single line has now extended to a 5-line absolute perfection and the entire project is expected to be completed by 2028 (purple, orange and red lines). Though there are no more updates about further extensions, the state and central governments are eager to expand this network further. Right now, 63000 crores+ budget has been allocated for the purple, orange and red lines, making it one of the most ambitious projects in the country! 

If you are planning to visit the marvellous city of Chennai soon, book your accommodation at hotels in Chennai that are close to the major metro stations. This will make intra-city travel easy and you can cover multiple tourist attractions within 2 or 3 days. 

FAQs

1 – How many Chennai metro stations are currently available?
A – The Chennai metro network has 43 stations with 2 lines – blue and green.

2 – What are the timings of the Chennai Metro trains?
A – The Chennai metro network is functional from 4:30 AM to 11:00 PM.

3 – How frequently do the trains arrive in the Chennai metro stations?
A – The Chennai metro trains arrive approximately 7 minutes apart.

4 – When is the final train scheduled to operate on the Chennai metro network each day?
A – The last train on the Chennai metro network is scheduled to run at 11:00 PM. Operations cease thereafter until the following day.

5 – What kinds of items are not allowed on Chennai metro trains?
A – Passengers cannot carry firearms, knives or weapons on the Chennai metro trains.

6 – Which is the longest route on the Chennai metro network?
A – The Blue Line is the longest route on the Chennai metro network.

7 – How fast are the Chennai metro trains?
A – The Chennai metro trains travel at an average speed of 32-34 kmph.

Have you been on the Chennai metro before? Share your experience in the comments section below!