Overview
- The Poonamallee–Vadapalani corridor, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated on Sunday, October 11, 2026, is a roughly 15 km elevated stretch with 11 stations and a 3.7 km double‑decker section.
- Limited passenger services began the same day from 4:00 pm with regular operations scheduled to start the next morning and trains initially running in automatic mode under onboard supervision rather than fully unattended driverless service.
- Six intermediate stations on the double‑decker section will remain closed at first while finishing work and checks continue, and advanced signalling designed to support driverless operation has been installed for later certification.
- The visit included the dedication of IIT‑Madras’s Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre and the launch of the C‑STROKE and 100‑brain mapping mission, alongside foundation stones and inaugurations for projects worth over ₹13,000 crore covering highways (about ₹3,700 crore), rail projects (over ₹750 crore), port upgrades and a ₹1,620 crore lube‑oil base stocks plant.
- City officials imposed heavy security measures for the visit, and the new corridor is expected to cut travel times for Chennai’s western suburbs and boost regional freight and passenger links as Phase II advances toward its full planned network of roughly 119 km.