Now that Poonamallee to Vadapalani is open, the next Chennai Metro sections to watch are the Porur to Vadapalani stations, the Koyambedu to Chennai Trade Centre leg of Corridor 5, and the elevated OMR stretch of Corridor 3. Most published targets for these fall between late 2026 and March 2027. The underground city sections will take longer. All of these dates have slipped before, and they should be read as targets, not promises.
Phase 2 has three corridors. On its road diversion page, CMRL lists Corridor 3 from Madhavaram to Siruseri SIPCOT at 45.4 km, Corridor 4 from Lighthouse to Poonamallee Bypass at 26.1 km, and Corridor 5 from Madhavaram to Sholinganallur at 44.6 km. Below is where each part stands, based on what CMRL officials have said in reports this year.
Corridor 4: filling the gaps between Porur and Power House
The 11 stations from Poonamallee Bypass to Vadapalani opened on 11 October 2026, but trains pass straight through six stations between Porur Junction and Vadapalani. These include Alapakkam, Karambakkam, Valasaravakkam, Alwarthirunagar and Saligramam, Swarajya reported on opening day. They will open only after construction is done. No official date has been given for them.
Past Vadapalani the line goes underground. In February 2026 CMRL said it planned to open the 3.5 km Vadapalani to Panagal Park section by March 2027, with tunnelling finished and track work about to begin, Swarajya reported. CMRL has not given a firm date for the rest of the underground run to Lighthouse, through Nandanam, Alwarpet, Mylapore and Kutchery Road.
The October opening itself shows how far dates can move. In February 2026, the Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety had cleared the stretch and officials expected services within weeks, DT Next reported. It finally opened eight months later.
Corridor 5: Koyambedu to Trade Centre, then Alandur
Corridor 5 runs in an arc from Madhavaram through Kolathur, Villivakkam, Koyambedu, Porur, Alandur and Medavakkam to Sholinganallur. The section closest to opening is the roughly 26 km stretch from Koyambedu to Chennai Trade Centre at Nandambakkam.
In September 2026 CMRL was targeting a trial run in November, Construction World reported, and testing is expected to take about four months before passenger service. About 90% of the track work was done at the time. CMRL’s board is also considering running trains on to Alandur, where riders could change to the Blue and Green lines. That needs the 3.6 km link along Butt Road to be finished, and the same report said the Alandur section could be commissioned in the first quarter of next year.
Earlier in the year officials had aimed for June 2026, so this section has also moved back. The trains are planned to run driverless.
Madhavaram to Retteri: the old end-2026 target
In 2023 CMRL said it aimed to open the 11 km elevated section from Madhavaram to Retteri junction before the end of 2026, Swarajya reported then. Officials said it could open only once the Madhavaram depot was ready. CMRL has not announced a revised official date for Madhavaram to Retteri, and with the year nearly over, residents of Kolathur and Villivakkam should not count on it opening in 2026.
The OMR corridor: elevated first, underground later
For IT commuters, the elevated part of Corridor 3 along Rajiv Gandhi Salai matters most. It runs about 20 km from Nehru Nagar near Perungudi through Thoraipakkam, Karapakkam, Sholinganallur and Navalur to Siruseri SIPCOT. No official opening date has been announced for it. Finishing the viaduct is only one step: track, power, signalling and safety inspections follow before passengers can board. The underground section from Madhavaram through Perambur, Purasaiwalkam, Nungambakkam, Mylapore and Adyar to Taramani comes later still.
Corridor 5 also comes onto OMR at Sholinganallur. Its southern section from Butt Road to Sholinganallur, via Medavakkam, is also elevated, and no separate opening date has been announced. In February 2026 officials said about 40 km of elevated Phase 2 viaduct was targeted for completion by March 2027, Swarajya reported.
| Section | Latest reported target |
|---|---|
| Porur to Vadapalani intermediate stations | Not officially dated |
| Koyambedu to Chennai Trade Centre (C5) | Trials from Nov 2026, then about 4 months of testing |
| Vadapalani to Panagal Park (C4) | March 2027 |
| Nehru Nagar to SIPCOT, OMR (C3) | Not officially dated; elevated works targeted by March 2027 |
| Butt Road to Sholinganallur (C5) | Not officially dated; elevated works targeted by March 2027 |
| Madhavaram to Retteri (C5) | End-2026 target set in 2023; no revised date |
| Madhavaram to Taramani underground (C3) | Later; no official date |
What this means for commuters now
For the next few months the only new metro is the Yellow Line from Poonamallee. Around the construction sites, diversions stay in place on OMR, LB Road in Adyar, Mylapore and Nungambakkam until the underground works are done. Officials have warned that residents near some underground sites should expect long restrictions. CMRL’s diversion page lists the affected locations by corridor. The PMO note for the October launch said the new stretch has signalling designed for driverless trains, and the later corridors are being built the same way.
Quick answers
Which Chennai Metro stretch opens next?
The likeliest are the six closed stations between Porur and Vadapalani, and the Koyambedu to Trade Centre section of Corridor 5 once its trials are done. CMRL has announced firm dates for neither.
When will metro reach Sholinganallur on OMR?
No opening date has been announced. Officials said in February 2026 that the elevated Phase 2 viaducts were targeted for completion by March 2027, and systems work and trials follow after that.
Is Madhavaram to Retteri opening in 2026?
Unlikely. The end-2026 target was set in 2023, and CMRL has not confirmed it or given a new date since.
For the current official position, see CMRL’s latest updates page.
Information checked against official sources on 18 October 2026. Fees, dates and rules can change; confirm on the linked official pages before acting.
Sources
- Road Diversion (CMRL)
- Latest Updates (CMRL)
- PM to visit Tamil Nadu on 11 October (PMO, pmindia.gov.in)
- PM Modi rides Chennai Metro alongside CM Vijay as Rs 4,900 crore Poonamallee-Vadapalani stretch is inaugurated (Swarajya)
- Chennai Metro Phase II: Vadapalani-Panagal Park section to open by March 2027 (Swarajya, Feb 2026)
- Poonamallee Bypass-Porur Metro services to begin soon (DT Next, Feb 2026)
- Chennai Metro targets November trials on Koyambedu-Trade Centre line (Construction World, Sep 2026)
- CMRL plans to start 11-km Madhavaram to Retteri stretch by end of 2026 (Swarajya, Apr 2023)
- 40 km of elevated corridors in Chennai Metro Phase 2 targeted for completion by March 2027 (Swarajya, Feb 2026)
