It is a well known fact that Madhavaram, located in the North of Chennai is amongst the most serene and sought after residential destination. Located between Kodungaiyur and Perambur, this classy place has everything you need and at an affordable rate. Be it the excellent infrastructure, well connected transportation service – MTC buses, rails, and autos; high quality education institutions – According to the 2011 census, the overall average literacy rate of just Madhavaram was a whopping 80.61%, which was 7.62% higher than the national average; Hospitals of Repute – High quality hospitals with some of the most experienced doctors from across the country; malls – Spectrum Mall, S2 Cinemas, Pvr Cinemas, Ags Cinemas, Ampa Skywalk and so on; religious centres, less traffic, less pollution, friendly and safe neighbourhood, lovely beaches and the list goes on. You name it, they got it. Now with the upcoming Phase-II Metro Project taken on by the Chennai Metro Rail Corporation, the future of Madhavaram doesn’t seem so bad and the thought of shifting to a place like Madhavaram sounds sweeter by the minute.
The second Phase of this Metro Project will be over 108 km in length with a total of 116 stations and will consist of three metro corridors namely – 3, 4, and 5. Madhavaram will be the starting point for the three metro corridors. Corridor 3, will connect SIPCOT to Madhavaram Milk Colony, which is about 45.81 km with around 50 stations situated throughout the corridor. Corridor 4 connects CMBT to the Lighthouse, which stretches to 17.12 km with 20 stations placed throughout. Finally corridor 5, connects Madhavaram and Sholinganallur, which is 44.66km with 46 stations at respective locations in between.
According to recent updates, the Phase two of this project is estimated to cost around Rs. 85,000 crores. The Project will be taken up in stages and the first stage of the Project has already commenced, beginning with soil tests and geo-technical investigations in Madhavaram. These tests will reveal to the CMRL officials about various aspects of Madhavarams geological conditions, the condition of the soil underneath along with the depth of the water table. Precise data is essential since majority of the railway stretch will be built underground in order to make an informed decision. CMRL has also begun acquiring land for this project and nearly 800 properties will be acquired just for the first stage of the project.
A new and revised detailed report about the Phase two of this project has been sent to the Central Government’s cabinet, which will thoroughly examine whether the report conforms to the new Metro Rail Policy of 2017. RITES (Earlier known as Rail India Technical and Economic Service) had submitted their Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report to JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) in 2017 for loan sanctioning and are still waiting for a clear confirmation on whether or not JICA will provide a second loan. Construction process will begin as soon as JICA sanctions the loan and the centre gives a nod. Phase two will surely make headway very soon, especially now that they have completed Phase one of the project and trial runs have begun.
The Metro Rail System has proven to be the most efficient with respect to energy consumption, space occupancy and is also extremely cost effective and eco friendly, not to mention that the time taken to travel gets cut down by almost half. Now who wouldn’t want to shift to a place close by to something that can take you to almost anywhere around the city within minutes and that too without losing in on time and money?