12 more trains to be operated

In a few weeks, commuters in the city will have access to Metro Rail trains every five minutes when the Chennai Central Metro Rail station becomes operational. They can travel a distance of 25 km from Chennai Central to the airport in 45 minutes and the fare is likely to be ₹70.

Officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) said they decided to increase the frequency to every five minutes during peak hours (8.30 a.m.to 10.30 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 8.30 p.m.) and every 7.5 minutes during non-peak hours (6 a.m. to 8.30 a.m., 10.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 8.30 p.m. to 10 p.m.) as they want more people using the system. Currently, about 22,000-25,000 people take the Chennai Metro Rail every day.

“Chennai Central is a major transport hub and thousands of people travel to the main railway station or the suburban station. We expect more to go to the airport from this station and hence, decided to increase the frequency. We may increase it further to even 2.5 minutes if the crowd increases significantly,” an official said.

Currently, Metro Rail trains run on three stretches, covering a total of 27 km. At present, trains run every 10 minutes and every 15 minutes during peak hours and non-peak hours respectively. The frequency on the stretch between Shenoy Nagar and St. Thomas Mount was recently increased to once seven minutes and 13 minutes alternatively.

CMRL will also increase the number of trains in the service. Twelve more trains will be added, taking the total to 25.