Glad to see the #ChennaiMetro finally inaugurated. Long journey since our DMK gov started it. Would love to see Metro expand to new areas!

DMK treasurer M.K. Stalin expressed profound satisfaction on June 29, 2015, following the long-awaited commercial inauguration of Chennai Metro Rail, tracing its inception back to the transformative infrastructural vision of the previous DMK government. Stalin reflected on the arduous journey since the project was officially conceptualized and launched under Dr. Kalaignar Karunanidhi's leadership in 2007, emphasizing that the modern transit network stood as a testament to the DMK's developmental foresight.

Stalin recalled how the DMK government had finalized funding agreements with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), awarded initial tunneling contracts, and commenced construction rapidly before 2011. However, bureaucratic inertia and political spite under the subsequent AIADMK regime had unnecessarily delayed commercial operations by over two years, depriving urban commuters of efficient mass transit while project costs escalated.

Stalin emphasized that the inaugural elevated stretch between Koyambedu and Alandur must only serve as the initial phase of a comprehensive urban transport revolution. He advocated for the rapid expansion of Metro Rail lines to densely populated northern suburbs, IT corridors along OMR, and expanding southern residential zones across the Chennai metropolitan region.