The project for extending the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) from Velachery to St. Thomas Mount is nearing completion, and train services may start before the Pongal in January next year.
Southern Railway’s Construction Wing is executing the final phase of the work before conducting a speed test and submitting an application to the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) for commissioning the project. The final phase of the work includes overhead electrification. The application will be submitted by mid-December this year, according to railway sources.
M. Senthamil Selvan, Chief Public Relations Officer, Southern Railway, said the final phase was delayed by girder launching by the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) above the elevated MRTS tracks. He said that recently, a load deflection test was carried out successfully with a diesel engine-powered freight train, as against the electrical multiple units. The packing and de-stressing of the tracks was also completed.
Engineers of the CSIR-Structural Engineering Research Centre, Chennai, inspected the extension and issued an independent structural stability certificate. The Electrical Inspector-General is expected to issue the certificate for the energised line by November 30, he said.
