CRS extends authorisation for Chennai Metro Rail’s phase II stretch

The Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) has granted extension of authorisation for Chennai Metro Rail’s phase II stretch from Porur to Vadapalani, sources said. The extension of this provisional authorisation has been given for a month.According to officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) the train services will continue as usual and there will not be any impact. “As a rule, Chennai Metro Rail must get an extension since the previous provisional authorisation was given till 31 October. We applied and have now got for a period of a month and after that too, it will be extended again. Passengers needn’t worry about it,” an official said.Chennai Metro Rail’s phase II stretch spanning 14.6 km from Poonamallee to Vadapalani via Porur is covered under corridor 4 (Poonamallee-Light House) and this was launched three weeks ago. In May this year, the Poonamallee-Porur got a nod from CRS but for the Porur-Vadapalani stretch, the ‘provisional authorisation’ was issued along with speed restrictions till 31 October. Following this, CMRL had applied for the extension of the authorisation and officials said they received the approval on Friday.This provisional authorisation with a speed restriction 40 kmph was granted for the Porur-Vadapalani stretch not only since six stations--Alapakkam, Karambakkam, Valasaravakkam, Alwarthirunagar, Saligramam Warehouse and Saligramam--had to be constructed but also because the trains were operated in manual mode. Though the extension has been given, CMRL must communicate to the CRS on the completion of the civil and signalling work in the Porur-Vadapalani stretch by the end of next month. Officials said, work is being expedited to finish the construction of the stations by January and the signalling work in five months. Once the signalling work is completed, the trains can be operated in driverless mode. Published - November 01, 2026 05:30 am IST