Chennai Metro-MRTS Merger Soon, CMDA To Revamp And Transform 18 MRTS Stations

The Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) will oversee the two-stage merger of the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) and Chennai Metro Rail Ltd. (CMRL).

Chennai Metropolitan Area is currently served by three distinct rail systems, Suburban railways and MRTS connecting various areas within the Metropolitan area.

The Chennai Mass Rapid Transit System is an entity owned by Indian Railways. It is India's first elevated railway line.

In a meeting headed by Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary Irai Anbu on May 11, Southern Railway gave preliminary clearance for the handover of MRTS to Chennai Metro. 

The project's first phase will involve the commercial development of all 18 MRTS stations and a 500-metre radius around them by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA).

Indian Railways would be handling operations and maintenance.

MRTS will be completely taken over by CMRL in the following phase.

Chennai MRTS connects the core business district of old Madras with the IT corridor and has a daily capacity of six lakh people. There are 18 stops along the 15-km alignment, which passes by a number of notable metropolitan sites.

If Chennai Metro Rail handles the MRTS operations, multi-modal integration will function better and make it simpler for passengers to transition from one mode of transportation to another.

CUMTA is researching the real estate potential and facilities at all MRTS stations.

“We will develop the stations and areas around them, as well as office spaces and business centres,” said I Jeyakumar, a special officer of the CUMTA.  “Most of these stations are in remote locations. We wanted to improve the environment. An MoU was drafted and is with the housing and urban development department,” he added, reports The New Indian Express.

The commercial development of all stations will be handled by CMDA through an open tender. It will take roughly 24 months to complete, the report added.

The report for the merger was submitted in 2018 by the consultant hired by Chennai Metro Rail, following which there were multiple rounds of discussions between Chennai Metro, Southern Railway, and the State government. 

Due to disagreements between the State government and Southern Railway (SR) over land acquisition to install a new line between Beach and Park Stations, the merger was put on hold after 2018.

According to the final report produced by the consultant hired to study the MRTS-Metro merger in 2018, the State will need to spend between Rs 2800 and Rs 3100 crore to upgrade the MRTS's drab and desolate platforms and install new rolling stock to give the system's stations the ambience of Metro stations.

A proposal to build out commercial space over nine MRTS stations was created 18 years ago, but it simply existed as a paper blueprint.