Chennai Metro’s 14.6-km Poonamallee–Vadapalani stretch carried 25,474 passengers on its first day, with the new connection lifting total Sunday ridership across the Phase I and Phase II networks to 2.19 lakh, according to Chennai Metro Rail Limited officials.
The stretch was opened after its inauguration by the Prime Minister, with services beginning from both Poonamallee and Vadapalani on Sunday. Passenger numbers were limited during the first half-hour, but a significant rush developed from 5 p.m. and continued until the last service at 9 p.m., the report said.
The Poonamallee Bypass station recorded the highest footfall, with nearly 4,800 passengers, followed by Porur Junction, which saw about 4,000 passengers. The opening-day crowd included young people, families with children and senior citizens who travelled on the newly opened section.
The addition of the stretch contributed to an overall Sunday ridership increase of nearly 15% across Chennai Metro’s Phase I and Phase II networks. The initial traffic was partly driven by residents visiting the new stations and travelling on the line, but officials said the network also continued to see strong demand during Monday morning peak hours.
“We witnessed hundreds of students and office-goers. This is not a new system anymore. People have travelled in the phase I network and have seen how beneficial this system is and hence we are hoping they become regular travellers in the phase II network too,” a CMRL official said.
The early weekday response indicates that the new section is already being used for routine commuting, rather than only for opening-day trips. The corridor connects areas including Poonamallee, Kattupakkam and Porur with Vadapalani, providing an alternative to road travel for residents and workers travelling towards the city’s established metro network.
For some commuters, the difference in travel time was immediate. E. Sivaramakrishnan, a Kattupakkam resident, said his daily road journey to Vadapalani generally took more than an hour. On the first day of metro operations, he said the journey took 20 minutes, reducing the time spent navigating traffic on his two-wheeler.
However, the passenger experience also highlighted an access gap at the Vadapalani end of the corridor. Sivaramakrishnan said that after alighting at Vadapalani, he had to walk a considerable distance because the entry and exit at Arcot Road had not yet been opened. The unresolved access point adds a final-mile inconvenience for passengers even as the main rail journey becomes faster.
CMRL officials said the crowd during Monday’s peak hours included students and office-goers, and expressed the expectation that users of the Phase I network would increasingly become regular passengers on the Phase II section. Further passenger patterns will emerge as the corridor moves beyond its opening days and weekday travel becomes the main measure of demand.
