Chennai Metro Rail Ltd (CMRL) has initiated plans to extend the city’s Metro network beyond the proposed Kilambakkam Metro Station to Chengalpattu, taking the rapid transit system deeper into Chennai’s fast-growing southern suburbs.CMRL has invited bids for preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for extending the proposed Kilambakkam Metro station to Chengalpattu, a stretch of about 25 km, as part of Corridor-1 (Phase I). The tender, announced on Saturday, marks the first formal step towards taking the Metro beyond Kilambakkam.The proposed extension builds on the Chennai Airport-Kilambakkam Metro project, for which CMRL submitted a DPR to the State government in February 2025. The 15.46-km elevated corridor, estimated to cost ₹9,335 crore, including an elevated road, will have 13 stations and connect Chennai Airport with the Kilambakkam bus terminus.According to the DPR, the Metro corridor has been proposed at Level-2, while the elevated road will run at Level-1, providing seamless connectivity to the Kilambakkam bus terminal. Intermediate ramps are planned near Tambaram to provide access to the Outer Ring Road. The elevated road has also been designed with provision for a future extension to Chengalpattu.The Airport-Kilambakkam Metro corridor will pass through Pallavaram, Chromepet, Tambaram, Perungalathur and Vandalur, connecting key transport hubs, including Chennai Airport, Tambaram railway station and the Kilambakkam bus terminus.The proposed extension is expected to help decongest the heavily trafficked Grand Southern Trunk (GST) Road corridor and the parallel suburban railway network.Apart from the Chengalpattu proposal, CMRL has also floated a tender to prepare a DPR for extending Corridor-5 (Phase II) from Assisi Nagar in Mahadvaram to Wimco Nagar in North Chennai of 11 km stretch The extension is expected to strengthen Metro connectivity in the northern part of the city by linking with the existing Wimco Nagar Metro station.Published on July 25, 2026