The phase II network comprises three corridors — Madhavaram to SIPCOT, Light House to Poonamallee, and Madhavaram to Sholinganallur.

:

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has bagged the contract for operation and maintenance of the Chennai Metro Rail’s phase II network.

For the next 12 years, DMRC will handle the operations of the ₹63,246 crore phase II project. Depending on the performance, the contract will be extended by another three years.

M.A. Siddique, managing director of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), said: “DMRC will be hiring most of the staff with working knowledge of Tamil (except those in senior management positions). Besides, labour-intensive components, including house keeping, security, ticketing have been kept in cost, plus components for which also knowledge of Tamil is being made mandatory. Most of the recruitment will take place in T.N., in colleges and ITIs/ polytechnics.”

While the Chennai Metro Rail outsourced station management alone for the phase I network that spans 54 km with 41 stations, the decision was to fully outsource this contract for the 118.9 km phase II network with 128 stations.

The phase II network comprises three corridors — Madhavaram to SIPCOT (corridor 3), Light House to Poonamallee (corridor 4), and Madhavaram to Sholinganallur (corridor 5).

According to officials of the CMRL, they floated bids for this contract in 2024, and when the technical bids were opened early this year, two firms were in the race — DMRC and Germany-based Deutsche Bahn. DMRC has now bagged the contract at a gross cost of ₹5,870 crore.

“DMRC will take charge of everything related to operation and maintenance of the phase II project. It includes handling the Operational Control Centre from where the trains will be tracked, maintaining the machinery and equipment, and other amenities in the three depots at Madhavaram, Poonamallee and Semmencheri where the trains will be repaired and stationed,” an official said.