Two more stations have been added to the Chennai Metro Rail on the Washermanpet-Wimco Nagar route. On Saturday, March 13, the Chennai Metro Rail Limited opened up the Tiruvottriyur Theradi station and Wimco Nagar Depot station, a CMRL announcement said. Clearance was given by the Metro Rail Safety Commissioner (CMRS), after the due inspection, the announcement added. With the opening of these two stations, passengers can travel from Wimco Nagar in the northern part of the city to Chennai International Airport in south Chennai in roughly one hour. Passengers boarding at Wimco Nagar Depot station will be able to use the two-wheeler and four-wheeler parking free of charge until March 31, according to the CMRL.
The two stations are a part of the Phase I extensions of the CMRL. Phase I of the Chennai Metro covers 45 km and consists of two corridors — one from Washermanpet to Chennai Airport and another from Central to St Thomas Mount. The Wimco Nagar Depot station adds to the eight existing stations on the 9km phase 1 extension between Washermanpet and Wimco Nagar, reported the Times of India. The station is attached to the depot with additional entry and exits for commuters from outside, the report added.
Ten trains were slated to be added for this line, bringing up the total number of trains operational in Chennai’s metro rail service to 52, according to The Hindu. Manufacturing of these ten trains began in February 2019, with the first train arriving in October of the same year.
The CMRL announcement also notes that they commenced passenger service in June 2015 and since then, ridership has crossed 2 lakh commuters a day as of March this year.