Metro may shorten secondary runway, undo Rs 430-cr plan

Chennai: The secondary runway at Chennai airport, being expanded at a cost of Rs 430 crore, cannot be put to optimum use if Metro Rail sticks to the alignment and height of its line that is now proposed to run along the perimeter wall of the airport.
As per the current alignment, the elevated Metro Rail stretch from Officers Training Academy to the airport would pass along the median of GST road and take a minor deviation to run close to the airport’s perimeter wall near Trident Hotel. It will then move back to the centre of GST road to reach the proposed Meenambakkam station and then the airport.
As this alignment cuts across the flight approach path of the secondary runway, runway threshold may have to be displaced further and flights will have to glide down at a much steeper angle to avoid the obstruction. This reduction in runway length would make it virtually impossible to have an instrument landing system (ILS) at the far end, which will render the runway unsuitable for bigger aircraft. The airport would have to depend on the primary runway alone.
The 6,700-feet secondary runway is being extended by 4,600 feet across Adyar river. It cannot be extended further in that direction as the area is thickly populated. So, if the runway threshold is displaced for the metro line at the GST road end, the Airports Authority of India is unlikely to be able to make up for it by extending the runway at the far end.
21/07/10 Times of India

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Categories: Airports Jul 2010