Chennai: Chennai Metro Kathipara curve is set to become the network’s sharpest turn as Chennai Metro Rail Ltd (CMRL) pushes ahead with a 413-metre viaduct soaring over Kathipara.

This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

Chennai Metro Kathipara curve becomes sharpest 413 m span
Photo: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

The structure, described in construction updates from Chennai Metro Rail, combines a tight sweep with an elevated alignment and is expected to give passengers both a dramatic swerve and wide views of the city. Once Phase II Corridor 5 opens, this span will carry trains between Madhavaram and Sholinganallur.

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Chennai Metro Kathipara curve on 413 m balanced cantilever

On this stretch, Corridor 5 trains will swing through a tight 125-metre-radius curve above the existing Phase I corridors and the Kathipara flyover before reaching Alandur metro station. As they move along the 413 m Kathipara balanced cantilever span, they will descend from an elevation of 33 metres to 27 metres while running at a speed of 35 kmph, with the geometry of the viaduct arranged to keep the ride stable and comfortable.

The curved structure between Butt Road and Alandur station is formed as a balanced cantilever comprising five spans of 58 m, 100 m, 100 m, 95 m and 60 m, as outlined in the Balance Corridor 5 environmental impact assessment from Chennai Metro Rail. Two cantilever arms between adjacent piers are now close to being joined, and the 100-metre section between pillars 411 and 412 is almost complete. “The remaining 3-metre gap between the arms will be closed with concrete, cast using hanging shutters without any support from the ground,” explained CMRL project director T Archunan.

Segmental construction and schedule for Corridor 5 viaduct

Each cantilever arm of the Kathipara balanced cantilever is divided into 10 segments, which are being installed one after another with the help of four form traveller sets at each pier location. High-tension strands are threaded through the segments and stressed to connect and stabilise the projecting arms, and once the arms are linked, a second stage of stressing with high-tension strands will follow.

According to the official, the entire structure on this part of Corridor 5 Madhavaram–Sholinganallur, which forms part of a wider programme described in project documentation from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, is scheduled to be completed by February.

Because the curve begins at CMRL’s tallest pillar and then slopes down towards Alandur metro station, the Chennai Metro Kathipara curve is expected to offer a distinctive ride experience for passengers.

CMRL has already built a balanced cantilever at the same location in Phase I, but that earlier structure largely went unnoticed because it did not feature such a pronounced curve as the one now being created for Corridor 5.

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