CMRL’s Semmencheri Depot yet to take off; may pose a challenge to train services on IT Corridor

The Chennai Metro Rail aims at launching train services along the IT Corridor soon, but a huge challenge looms large — construction of the Semmencheri depot, which is yet to begin due to land acquisition issues.

Without this depot, it will be difficult to manage train operations along the IT Corridor.

Depots, which house repair lines and washing plants among others, serve as a critical infrastructure in a metro network, and aid in train maintenance and repairs.

For the ₹63,246-crore phase II project, the Chennai Metro Rail had initially mapped out three depots: Madhavaram, Poonamallee and SIPCOT, for trains plying the three corridors — Madhavaram to SIPCOT, Poonamallee to Light House, and Madhavaram to Sholinganallur.

Later, the SIPCOT depot was dropped for various reasons, with exclusive stabling lines (for parking the train) alone to be provided. However, the project was revived when the need for a depot arose, some months ago.

According to officials of the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), though they have chalked out an elaborate plan for the depot construction at Semmencheri, the project is yet to take off.

“We had identified a large parcel of land at Semmencheri for the depot. But there were acquisition issues, due to which we are unable to get that land yet. We are actively pursuing the issue with the State government. Unless we have that land parcel, it will be difficult to carry out train operations along the IT corridor,” an official said.

According to sources, it will take a minimum of two years to build a depot. If it does not come up by the time the IT Corridor is ready for train services, they will have to induct trains for operations from Madhavaram to Poonamallee Depot, both of which will be available by then.

“But, to run train services from one end of the city to the other at a three-minute frequency during peak hours, the trains need to be inducted hours in advance. This will add to energy consumption and expenditure. If there is a glitch in the train at Taramani, instead of having it repaired at Semmencheri, it has to be taken to Poonamallee or Madhavaram,” another source said.