After several missed targets, the first stretch of Chennai Metro's Phase 2 is reported to be days from opening. For buyers in West Chennai the practical questions are narrow: is the date firm, which stations will actually be in service, and does a working metro line change what a flat is worth? This article answers those using named sources, and flags where sources disagree.

Updated 7 October 2026, before the reported inauguration. Treat every date below as a schedule rather than an accomplished fact; we will update this page once CMRL publishes its timetable and fare chart.

The line at a glance

  • Route: Poonamallee Bypass to Vadapalani, via Kattupakkam, Iyyappanthangal and Porur. Part of Corridor 4 (Yellow Line) of Chennai Metro Phase 2.
  • Length: 14.64 km, all elevated (DT Next, 29 September 2026).
  • Stations open on day one: 11. Six more on the stretch are skipped at first (NativePlanet).
  • Opening: inauguration by the Prime Minister reported for 11 October 2026 (DT Next; UNI).
  • Fares: ₹10 to ₹40, worked out by CMRL (DT Next, 29 September 2026).
  • Frequency: about every 10 minutes, with around 15 trains (DT Next).
  • Interchange: Vadapalani is also a station on the Green Line (Phase 1), open since 2015 (Wikipedia). How passengers transfer between the two stations is for CMRL to confirm.

Fares on the Poonamallee–Vadapalani stretch

DT Next (29 September 2026) and News Today (30 September 2026) report that CMRL has worked out a fare structure of ₹10 to ₹40, with the full fare chart to be published on CMRL's website after the inauguration. Fares as reported, from Poonamallee Bypass:

  • ₹10: to Poonamallee Bus Stand.
  • ₹20: to Poonamallee Government Hospital, Karayanchavadi, Kumananchavadi and Kattupakkam.
  • ₹30: to Iyyappanthangal and the stations towards Porur.
  • ₹40: to Vadapalani, the full length of the stretch.

Station by station: what is nearby

The 11 opening stations from west to east, with the neighbourhoods they serve and our guides for each. Names follow NativePlanet's opening list; CMRL signage may differ slightly.

What is confirmed, and what is not

DT Next reports that the Prime Minister is expected to inaugurate the 14.6-km Poonamallee to Vadapalani stretch on 11 October 2026, with a train ride from Poonamallee to Porur planned. UNI reports the same date and describes it as the first operational stretch of Phase 2, with 11 elevated stations over 14.64 km. DT Next adds that the commissioner of railway safety gave final approval for the entire stretch only in May, and that the opening had been originally scheduled for December 2025, then February 2026.

Construction World, writing on 8 September 2026, said the section was still awaiting confirmation of an inauguration date from the Prime Minister's Office. Between that report and the DT Next and UNI reports, a date has since been fixed. We have not seen a CMRL notice of its own, so the date should be read as reported, not officially announced by us. When public passenger service actually begins, and the timetable, are for CMRL to publish.

Which stations open, and which do not

NativePlanet lists 11 stations for the opening: Poonamallee Bypass, Poonamallee, Mullaithottam, Karayanchavadi, Kumananchavadi, Kattupakkam, Iyyappanthangal, Thelliyaragaram, Porur Bypass, Porur Junction and Vadapalani. It says six double-decker stations will be bypassed at first because work continues: Alapakkam, Karambakkam, Valasaravakkam, Alwarthirunagar, Saligramam and Avichi School.

NativePlanet also reports operating hours of 5 am to midnight, ₹50 for through journeys to the airport, Central or Egmore via interchange, and an expected Poonamallee to Vadapalani travel time of about 30 minutes. It says driverless operation is targeted for mid-2027 after testing and certification. These three details have not been confirmed by CMRL in the reports we found, so treat them as provisional.

A naming caution: Wikipedia's Yellow Line page, which describes the whole 26.1-km, 27-station Lighthouse to Poonamallee Bypass line, uses different names for some stations (for example Poonamallee Government Hospital, Poonamallee Bus Stand and Virugambakkam South). Station names and counts were also trimmed when CMRL revised Phase 2 in 2023, per Metro Rail Today. Check the final signage and CMRL's station list before using a station name to anchor a purchase decision.

The three Phase 2 corridors at a glance

  • Corridor 4, Lighthouse to Poonamallee (Yellow Line): 26.1 km and 27 stations, per Metro Rail Today and Wikipedia. Poonamallee to Vadapalani is the part opening now. Wikipedia gives June 2028 for Vadapalani to Lighthouse, which includes underground stations such as Panagal Park at T Nagar. Wikipedia describes Panagal Park as set to be the largest Phase 2 station, with a June 2028 opening marked to be confirmed.
  • Corridor 5, Madhavaram to Sholinganallur (Red Line): reduced from 47 km to 44.6 km and 44 stations in the 2023 revision, per Metro Rail Today. Construction World (8 September 2026) says CMRL targets trial runs on the Koyambedu to Chennai Trade Centre section in November 2026, with about four months of testing before commercial service, and that Koyambedu to Alandur is unlikely to open before 2027.
  • Corridor 3, Madhavaram to SIPCOT (Purple Line): 45.4 km and 47 stations after the revision. Propspedia (September 2026) says the elevated Nehru Nagar to Siruseri section is expected by December 2026 and the underground city section in 2028, while Wikipedia's station table shows December 2027 for the elevated section and December 2028 for the underground one. We flag that conflict; confirm with CMRL.
  • Whole programme: Propspedia cites 118.9 km and 128 stations at approval (Cabinet, 3 October 2024) against 116.1 km and 118 stations in a June 2026 CMRL update, with completion targeted by the end of 2028.

Which localities gain, and when

Gaining first, on the opening day: Poonamallee, Kattupakkam, Iyyappanthangal, Porur and the Vadapalani end. These stations are in service on the reported opening list.

Gaining later: Valasaravakkam, Alwarthirunagar, Saligramam and the Virugambakkam belt (stations skipped initially), then Manapakkam and Ramapuram on Corridor 5, which Wikipedia's station table shows for March 2027, though the November 2026 trial plan reported by Construction World makes early 2027 the more cautious reading. Kolathur and Madhavaram on Corridor 5 and Kilpauk and Nungambakkam on Corridor 3 are underground or later-phase stations tabulated at December 2028.

Not on Phase 2's three corridors: Avadi and Ambattur. A Koyambedu to Pattabiram branch (Line 5B, 21.76 km, 19 elevated stations) had its detailed project report approved by the Tamil Nadu government in May 2025, per Wikipedia, and was awaiting central approval. That is a proposal, not a build.

Property Point has locality guides for several of these. Start with the ones closest to your shortlist: Poonamallee, Chennai, Porur, Chennai, Manapakkam, Chennai, Madhavaram, Chennai.

What does the evidence say about prices?

Independent evidence is thinner than marketing suggests. A University of Maryland study of Mumbai Metro Line 1 (726 sub-zones, 2011 to 2018) found price rises of about 13% for commercial and 17% for residential property within 1 km of the line against areas 1 to 3 km away. A 2025 study of 300 plotted properties in Gurugram (2007 to 2024) reported an average 12% fall in price per kilometre of distance from a station, with the effect fading beyond 1 km and disappearing by 1.5 to 2 km. Both are single-city studies, in different urban forms from Chennai's west.

Chennai's own recent data is a useful counterweight. Knight Frank's H1 2026 report shows Porur at ₹6,646 to ₹7,054 per sq ft with 0% change over 12 months and 0% over 6 months, even though the metro was near completion. West Chennai held the largest unsold inventory in the city at 9,779 units, with a quarters-to-sell of 8.1 against 4.4 for the whole city, which Knight Frank says indicates slower absorption than elsewhere in the city. In the same report, Perumbakkam rose 20% year on year, which it linked partly to proximity to OMR jobs and upcoming Phase 2 connectivity.

At the other end, developer blogs claim gains of 20 to 30% within 1 km of planned stations and an ₹800 to ₹1,000 per sq ft jump in Porur over two years. The Isha Homes blog making those claims cites no source or dates, and Isha Homes markets Phase 2-adjacent projects. We treat these as marketing claims, not evidence.

A fair reading: a metro tends to lift accessibility and can support prices within walking distance, but the effect is local, takes time, and may already be partly in asking prices. Porur's flat 12 months in Knight Frank's data is a reminder that opening dates do not guarantee appreciation.

How to use this as a buyer

  • Measure the actual walk. Distance to the specific station that is open, not the corridor name, is what matters. For skipped stations, ask the seller for the CMRL-stated opening plan in writing rather than a verbal assurance.
  • Do not pay a visible premium for the label alone. Compare asking rates inside and outside a 1-km radius of the same project type.
  • Weigh supply. If a locality has large unsold inventory, as West Chennai does in Knight Frank's data, you have room to negotiate.
  • Verify RERA registration and approvals independently. Our guide to Chennai documents (patta, chitta, DTCP and CMDA approvals) covers the checklist.
  • Keep a household reason for buying. Commute time, schools and a trustworthy builder outlast any single infrastructure headline.