Latest news with #T.Archunan
The Hindu
23-07-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Chennai Metro Rail completes tunnel between Panagal Park and Kodambakkam for phase II project
After 14 months underground, Chennai Metro Rail's tunnel boring machine 'Peacock' made a breakthrough at Kodambakkam on Wednesday, successfully creating a two-km tunnel between Panagal Park and Kodambakkam as part of the upcoming phase II project. In a couple of years, when the track is laid and stations get ready, you will be able to hop onto this underground line and travel from Kodambakkam to T. Nagar. This section is part of corridor 4 of the phase II project which traverses from Poonamallee to Light House via T. Nagar. Work began last year In May 2024, TBM Peacock began boring the earth from Panagal Park. In the last 14 months, the machine created a tunnel under Usman Road flyover and Kodambakkam flyover and the Kodambakkam Suburban Railway Station and snaked its way till Kodambakkam, near Meenakshi College for Women, covering a distance of two km and made a breakthrough on Wednesday afternoon. The corridor 4 which starts as an elevated section takes a plunge at this point in Kodambakkam, opposite to Meenakshi College for Women, and turns into an underground section till Light House. T. Archunan, director (projects), Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) said no other tunnel in the city is as long as this stretch (between two stations)and the breakthrough was achieved without unsettling any of the establishments close by. 'The diaphragm wall at Kodambakkam was built just three metres away from the Kodambakkam Suburban Railway Line. This was no easy feat. When the TBM bored under the Kodambakkam Suburban Railway Line, the trains passing through the track had speed restrictions of 15 -25 kmph for 15 days. Apart from tunnelling under flyovers and the railway track, the TBM bored under nearly 190 buildings, and a sizable number of them were pretty old, dilapidated ones too,' he said. Dibyendu Choudhuri, former project director for this stretch with ITD Cementation India Limited, said they dealt with mixed soil conditions between Panagal Park - Kodambakkam stretch, which was quite challenging. 'In T. Nagar it was a combination of clayey and sandy soil. Beyond that, it became rock. In some parts in Kodambakkam, while the upper layer was clayey, the lower part was rock which made it a bit difficult to tunnel through. We also had to change the cutter discs on 18 occasions,' he recalled.
The Hindu
09-06-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Chennai Metro Rail to build leisure facilities, workplaces at Phase II's Thirumangalam station
Like Kokura Station in Japan or Chongqing in China, Thirumangalam station will emerge as a place where people can shop, dine, or work on one floor and then catch a ride on the Chennai Metro Rail network on another. In a couple of months, Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) will start the construction of four towers in Thirumangalam. According to CMRL officials, they have floated bids for the massive project, which is located opposite to the Anna Nagar West Depot, near the Phase I Thirumangalam Metro station. Sprawling over 3.85 acres, the project will comprise the Phase II Thirumangalam Metro station and four towers. While Towers A and C will have three basements, a ground floor, and nine upper floors, the station will be in Tower B, which will have a ground floor and nine upper floors. Tower D will have a ground floor and two upper floors. In Tower B, the third floor will have the concourse and the platforms will be on the fourth floor. While ground floors will have retail and convenience stores in Towers A, B, and C, the first and second floors have been earmarked for commercial development similar to malls, and floors five to nine will have dedicated office spaces. T. Archunan, Director (projects), CMRL, said they drew inspiration from mass rapid transit systems in Japan. 'Kokura Station is a classic example for transit-oriented development. Based on the land availability, we are taking efforts to incorporate this strategy in as many locations as possible. But Thirumangalam will stand out as a great example for transit-oriented development since trains pass through buildings, making the commute seamless for people. All they have to do is switch floors to take the train,' he added. Manoharan Nambiar of Thirumangalam said that since there were apartments, a mall, and business establishments, the area suffered from traffic congestion both on weekdays and during weekends. 'Hence, two Metro Rail stations in Thirumangalam is a great boon to commuters. If commercial development and office spaces are planned alongside a mass rapid transport, it substantially improves mobility and does not add to congestion on the road,' he said. A. Shankar, India Head, Government Advisory and Infrastructure Solutions, Jones Lang LaSalle Property Consultants, said Metro systems across the world were being developed from the perspective of transit-oriented development. 'At a time when there is a great demand for office spaces, building them in the same tower with a Metro Rail system will be a great way to do it. Companies will prefer it and take them since they don't have to spend on providing transport for their workers,' he added. Sangami Nagarajan, an urban planner, said mix-use development always worked and would significantly aid in gradually nudging people to shift public transport in the future. 'Integrated development such as this are baby steps that will ensure that more people prefer public transport,' she added. 'Take for instance, the malls in the city. The one in Vadapalani has Metro Rail access, whereas the one in Velachery does not. Hence, the pressure on parking space is manyfold in the latter's case. Also, when stations are located close to the workplace or within the same tower, patronage for the transit system will be high, since people will readily opt for taking trains instead of their vehicles,' Ms. Nagarajan said.
The Hindu
09-06-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Chennai Metro Rail Limited to incorporate leisure facilities, workplaces at Phase II's Thirumangalam station
Like Kokura Station in Japan or Chongqing in China, Thirumangalam station will emerge as a place where people can shop, dine, or work on one floor and then catch a ride on the Chennai Metro Rail network on another. In a couple of months, Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) will start the construction of four towers in Thirumangalam. According to CMRL officials, they have floated bids for the massive project, which is located opposite to the Anna Nagar West Depot, near the Phase I Thirumangalam Metro station. Sprawling over 3.85 acres, the project will comprise the Phase II Thirumangalam Metro station and four towers. While Towers A and C will have three basements, a ground floor, and nine upper floors, the station will be in Tower B, which will have a ground floor and nine upper floors. Tower D will have a ground floor and two upper floors. In Tower B, the third floor will have the concourse and the platforms will be on the fourth floor. While ground floors will have retail and convenience stores in Towers A, B, and C, the first and second floors have been earmarked for commercial development similar to malls, and floors five to nine will have dedicated office spaces. T. Archunan, Director (projects), CMRL, said they drew inspiration from mass rapid transit systems in Japan. 'Kokura Station is a classic example for transit-oriented development. Based on the land availability, we are taking efforts to incorporate this strategy in as many locations as possible. But Thirumangalam will stand out as a great example for transit-oriented development since trains pass through buildings, making the commute seamless for people. All they have to do is switch floors to take the train,' he added. Manoharan Nambiar of Thirumangalam said that since there were apartments, a mall, and business establishments, the area suffered from traffic congestion both on weekdays and during weekends. 'Hence, two Metro Rail stations in Thirumangalam is a great boon to commuters. If commercial development and office spaces are planned alongside a mass rapid transport, it substantially improves mobility and does not add to congestion on the road,' he said. A. Shankar, India Head, Government Advisory and Infrastructure Solutions, Jones Lang LaSalle Property Consultants, said Metro systems across the world were being developed from the perspective of transit-oriented development. 'At a time when there is a great demand for office spaces, building them in the same tower with a Metro Rail system will be a great way to do it. Companies will prefer it and take them since they don't have to spend on providing transport for their workers,' he added. Sangami Nagarajan, an urban planner, said mix-use development always worked and would significantly aid in gradually nudging people to shift public transport in the future. 'Integrated development such as this are baby steps that will ensure that more people prefer public transport,' she added. 'Take for instance, the malls in the city. The one in Vadapalani has Metro Rail access, whereas the one in Velachery does not. Hence, the pressure on parking space is manyfold in the latter's case. Also, when stations are located close to the workplace or within the same tower, patronage for the transit system will be high, since people will readily opt for taking trains instead of their vehicles,' Ms. Nagarajan said.
The Hindu
21-05-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
There is a need to ramp up research to cater to the growing demands of infrastructure sector, says Chennai Metro official
CHENNAI There should be a quantum leap in efforts to improve infrastructure, T. Archunan, director (projects), Chennai Metro Rail Limited said here on Wednesday. Speaking at the diamond jubilee conference on 'Monitoring, Assessment and Predictive Maintenance of Critical Infrastructures, i-MAP 2025' organised by CSIR-Structural Engineering Research Centre (SERC), he said, SERC was a great institution and there was a need to have more such institutes in the country. But he noted that institutions like SERC, IITs and the other labs have to ramp up to meet the growing demand in the infrastructure sector. The research institutes are not adequate to meet the demands of infrastructure projects. 'We don't have tunnel codes. We have to improve our theory to suit our execution,' he said. Ravindra Kumar Goel, principal executive director (bridges), Ministry of Railways, Rail Bhavan, said, they were maintaining and sustaining very old structures with care, even as the expansion of the railway network was under way. 'There are nearly 34,000 bridges which are more than 100 years old, and we have to sustain them. It is not easy,' he said. There was a need to integrate with SERC, IITs or other academic institutions which could help with mitigating problems in the maintenance of infrastructure, he said and noted that for the Pamban bridge, the health monitoring system instrumentation was provided by the SERC. Srinivas Voggu, chief scientist, CSIR-SERC and organiser of i-MAP 2025 said, over decades, SERC has been carrying out design and performance assessment of critical infrastructure in the country. N. Anandavalli, director CSIR-SERC also spoke during the occasion.
