Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Sunday flagged off the first train of Chennai Metro Rail's Phase 2 network, opening the Poonamallee-Vadapalani stretch to the public and taking a ride together from Porur Bypass to Poonamallee.

What happened

The two leaders arrived at the Porur Bypass metro station around 11.30 am on October 11, 2026, were briefed on the 118.9-km Phase 2 project — including the balanced cantilever structure at Kathipara and tunnelling progress — and then flagged off the first train before boarding the next one for a joint ride. Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar was also present.

The new stretch

The newly opened section spans 15 km between Poonamallee Bypass and Vadapalani, with 11 elevated stations. It is part of Corridor 4 of Phase 2 and was built at a cost of around Rs 4,900 crore. With this opening, Chennai's metro network grows from 54 km to 68 km.

The corridor includes a 3.7-km double-decker structure and advanced signalling systems designed to support driverless train operations. It is expected to significantly improve connectivity between Chennai's western suburbs and the city centre.

Timings and frequency

Passenger services on the new stretch began at 4 pm on Sunday. From Monday, October 12, regular services will run from 7 am to 9 pm. Initially, 15 trains will operate on the stretch, with a train every 10 minutes during peak hours (8-11 am and 5-8 pm) and every 15 minutes at other times.

The bigger visit

The metro launch headlined a day of inaugurations during Modi's Chennai visit, with development projects worth over Rs 13,000 crore being launched or having their foundation stones laid. These include National Highway projects worth around Rs 3,700 crore — including the 36-km Vadugapatti-Therkuvenganallur section of NH-744, the Madurai Ring Road and the Thiruvarur Bypass — and railway infrastructure worth over Rs 750 crore, including the Karaikal-Peralam line, three flyovers in Coimbatore and five Amrit stations.

Background

Work on the 118.9-km Phase 2 network began nearly six years ago. The Tamil Nadu government gave in-principle approval in January 2019, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah laid the foundation stone in November 2020. The Poonamallee-Vadapalani section opened after a delay of about ten months.