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The Mass Rapid Transit System in Chennai should be given a corporate structure or be merged with the Chennai Metro Rail to support an efficient public transport system in the city, according to Mr K. Rajaraman, Managing Director, Chennai Metro Rail.
The MRTS, the elevated rail transport operated by the Southern Railways, which links the northern part of Chennai to Velachery, a southern suburb, needs to be integrated with other forms of road and rail-based public transport system.
Integration
The suburban rail system could also be strengthened by upgrading the infrastructure with modern rolling stock. This could be along the lines of the modernisation programme in Mumbai.
The Chennai Metro Rail is implementing a Rs 14,500-crore metro rail project, which will be integrated with the existing public transport systems to create a seamless multimodal transport. However, the MRTS is a weak link that needs to be better integrated to fully exploit its potential. It needs to be more flexible to meet the modern day needs.
Multi-modal
Addressing a seminar on sustainable urban mobility organised by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority, he said over the next one month all components of the metro rail project will be tendered out. The first 8-km stretch of the project will start operation in 2013 and by 2015 the two arms totalling over 45 km will be in operation linking various parts of the city. By then Chennai Metro hopes to put in place a smooth multimodal system meshing its services to bus, suburban rail, MRTS and ‘para transport' modes such as auto-rickshaws to give the citizens an efficient system.
The metro rail stations at various points are linked to the other public transport system including the international airport. Rules and regulations under the Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority Act are being framed and will enable the creation of a smart card based, seamless ticketing procedure for which the plans will be finalised by the year-end.
Multiple agencies including the Chennai Corporation, CMDA, MRTS, Southern Railways and bus transport will have to work together to implement the system, he said.
More corridors
Chennai Metro has also commissioned a detailed project report by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to implement metro rail along three more corridors in Chennai totalling over 63 km. The two corridors now link Tiruvottriyur in North Chennai to the South up to the airport at Meenambakam with one corridor covering the western outskirts of Chennai up to Koyambedu and another the heart of the city through the Central Business Districts along Anna Salai.
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