Chennai Metro Rail has completed the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the extension lines from Light House to Madras High Court and will submit it to the Tamil Nadu government shortly.

Chennai Metro Rail had floated bids in March last year looking for a consultant to prepare the DPR and subsequently, in June, Systra MVA Consulting (India) Pvt. Ltd. bagged the contract for this project. Sources said the DPR was completed recently, and they plan to hand over the document to the State government within a week for its approval.

The Light House to Madras High Court stretch will be a 5.69-km underground stretch comprising four stations in between—Ezhilagam, Island Grounds, Secretariat, and Madras High Court.

The estimated cost of this project is ₹4,300 crore.

Light House, which is under construction as part of the 118.9-km phase II project, will serve as one of the key terminal stations. This station is part of the 26.1-km East-West corridor, which starts at Poonamallee and terminates at Light House after crossing some of the core areas, including Valasaravakkam, Vadapalani, Kodambakkam, T. Nagar, Nandanam, Boat Club, Alwarpet, and Thirumayilai.

If the Light House-Madras High Court stretch is approved by the State and Centre and becomes operational, it could be an extension of the corridor 4 and benefit lakhs of people.

“Several government employees are employed at both Secretariat and Ezhilagam. Island Grounds is one of the important exhibition spaces in the city visited by many. So, commuters will stand to gain hugely from Chennai Metro Rail connectivity to these three locations,” a source said.

It has been planned underground since it is an extension of the already existing line underground stretch.

Prasanna Kumar who is employed at Ezhilagam said, such an extension will help people like him to commute to workplace and the Secretariat. “I have had to frequently travel from Ezhilagam to Secretariat. Currently, I have to take a bus. But if metro connectivity comes through, it will be far more convenient for many like me,” he added.