Chennai Metro- An Overview

Chennai Metro-An Overview

The city of Chennai has been asking the government and its Mayor as well as Corporation for a long time to solve its traffic & infrastructure problems by installing a mass transit system in place. The population has risen rapidly, there have been unacceptable and unpredictable journey times by road etc.; necessitating the need of a metro rail system. Almost all cities in Western countries have metro rail, (some of them for decades) so why can’t Chennai?

The city has already many modes of transportation including an extensive bus system run by the State Bus Corporation. And then, the Southern Railway division of Indian Railways runs the Chennai Mass Rapid Transit System. Yet, these steps hardly improved residents’ time, energy, and resources. It only increased the blood pressure of these citizens. 

Thus, the implementation of a metro system was just a matter of time. The “Metro Man of India”. E. Sreedharan, wanted to construct the metro in Chennai, after his huge success following in Delhi. But, then, petty politics broke out between the top two parties of the state. One wanted to do the metro project, while the other (when it was in power) desired a “monorail” project. But, the former party had its way and the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) was started in 2007 at an expense of Rs 50 crores in the State Budget.

Obviously, in these kind of projects, a lot of time would go in planning & research. So, construction finally started in June, 2009 and the completion of all phases might be done in February, 2015.

A total of 41 stations have been planned along the two lines. The Chennai Central and Alandur stations would serve as interchange stations. The locations of these two station serves the purpose of changing trains as both are in opposite corners of the town.

Look at the features of the stations. There will be an automatic fare collection system, automatic announcement system, electronic information display boards. These terms were only used/heard in European/American towns. Facilities are being made so that the stations will be easily accessible to physically handicapped persons. Wi-Fi facility, an important feature for the growing population of smartphone-users is also being planned at some of the stations. Well, all good things come at a cost. And in this case, parking facilities will be available only in some of the stations, including Chennai Central, Chennai Airport, etc. while others may not have parking provision due to lack of space.

The price of the journey is very suitably placed. A ride to the next area from my house by auto costs me Rs100-150. Ten years back, it used to be less than half its price. But, by the fares the CMRL has issued, it would be around Rs15-20. It would save money not only for me, but for thousands of citizens. It would be an end to the awful fleecing done by the rickshaw drivers.

Metro Rail Systems around the world all have been proven to be eco-friendly and cause low energy consumption. The latter is very important as the state faces frequently short-power crisis. State-of-the-art electric systems have been put into place to avoid energy crunches. A very important stat is that energy consumption of the Chennai Metro will be one-fifth as that of the city's road traffic. This adds to the importance of it. Also, it saves fuel; thus playing a major part in reducing the city’s pollution levels, caused by automobile exhaust. CMRL is also planning to use solar power for five of its stations on the elevated corridor. Thus, they are doing their incentives for “Green Energy”.

As the proverb goes, “A Stitch in Time saves nine”. The most important advantage of the Chennai Metro (the prime reason it is being built) is that it reduces journey time by 50% to 75%. For those who get stuck in the long lines to their offices/schools, it is “music to their eyes”.  It is said that it carries as much traffic as 7 lanes of bus traffic or 24 lanes of car traffic.

Also, it gives the much-needed up gradation of the city of Chennai from a modest, conservative, cultural town to a modernized, stylish metropolis, catering to the IT-youth population. This rail system can reimage “Chennai Brand”.

 Once operational, Chennai Metro will operate trains from 5:00 am to 12:00 am. The train will have an average speed of 34 km per hour and will halt at every station for about 30 seconds. Compare this with New York Subway, with the trains there running at almost 140 km per hour. Well, it is still early days for the Chennai Metro, I am sure, it will slowly, but surely, increase its frequency & speed.

The CMRL is likely to take over Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS).  It is an extremely good move because of poor connectivity of the MRTS to bus routes and infrequency of bus services. It will lead to great maintenance and more facilities for the passengers of both train services.

Hope the Chennai Metro expands all over the district, as the CMRL must realize that a majority of Chennai’s workforce are in automobile, electronic and IT industries are in the suburbs. If the rail system could connect these parts with the Chennai Central, then people who are living in the city could easily travel for work.

The Chennai Metro has its share of controversies such as labor deaths and cutting of trees. But, then, more strict measures have been implemented to protect the workers. Also, the CMRL has planted more than 60,000 trees in compensation for the felling.

The Chennai Metro promises to be a new dawn of optimist and hope for the citizens as it prepares to kick start its operations in October-November this year, and full operations by March, 2015.