Chennai Mass Rapid Transit System

The Chennai Mass Rapid Transit System, commonly referred to as Chennai MRTS, is a metropolitan rail transit system in Chennai, India. It is operated by Southern Railway of the state-owned Indian Railways. Opened in 1995, it was the first elevated railway line in India. The railway line runs from Chennai beach to Velachery, covering a distance of 19.34 km with 18 stations and is integrated with the wider Chennai suburban railway network.

While the suburban railway has been operational since 1931, the Planning Commission of Government of India set up a team to study the adequacy and feasibility of different modes of transport and recommend development in major cities including Madras in 1965. In July 1971, eight important transport corridors including the 39 km north–southeastern rail corridor along the Buckingham Canal were identified for development of rail corridors. The north–southeastern rail corridor was approved by Government of India in 1983–84 with the project to be implemented in four phases. The project was taken up for implementation by the Ministry of Railways with construction beginning in 1991. The first phase from Chennai beach to Chepauk was completed in 1995 with further extension to Thirumyilai completed in 1997. Part of second phase from Thirumayilai to Thiruvanmiyur was completed in 2004 with the extension to Velachery in 2007. , a planned extension to St. Thomas Mount is under construction.

The Chennai MRTS line is largely elevated with at-grade sections at its terminals. The line runs at grade initially till Park Town, parallel to the suburban railway network and becomes elevated thereon, roughly following the course of the Buckingham Canal, running parallel to the Coromandel Coast till Thiruvanmiyur before deviating west towards Velachery. It uses the same broad gauge (5 ft 6in) as the suburban system, thus allowing the movements of trains between the existing suburban lines and the MRTS. The elevated tracks are built at an average height of about 14 m from the ground. The Chennai MRTS uses 9-car electrical multiple unit (EMU) train sets. The trains use 25 kV overhead catenary for traction. The coaches are manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai. The coaches are not air-conditioned and are equipped with first-class and second-class passenger seating.

As of 2015, the system had a ridership of 1 lakh (0.1 million) commuters per day. With the implementation of the Chennai Metro Rail starting in 2015 and planned expansion of the same, further expansion of the MRTS system was put on hold in 2017, with the plans for the MRTS system to be taken over by Chennai Metro Rail Limited. In 2022, the Southern Railway of Indian Railways gave an in-principle approval for the take-over under which the coaches, stations and other infrastructure will be upgraded on par with the Chennai Metro.

Background
The Chennai Suburban Railway started operating in 1931 on an electrified line from Chennai Beach to Tambaram and two more lines were added connecting Chennai Central with Gummidipoondi in 1985 and Arakkonam later. In 1965, the Planning Commission formed a group to study to research of the suitability of the existing transportation network, to ascertain the viability of various ways of transportation and advocate plans for the expansion of transportation amenities in major metropolitan cities including Madras..

Planning
To supplement the existing transport infrastructure in Chennai, a number of surveys were conducted such as the Madras Area Transportation Study (1968), Integrated Transport Plan (1977) and Madras Route Rationalisation Study (1986). The Madras Area Transportation Study Unit (MATSU) identified eight important transport corridors including the north–southeastern rail corridor connecting between Kasturba Nagar and Manali Road. The study suggested the implementation of a rail based Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) on the southern section of the line along the Buckingham Canal connecting to the existent suburban system. The MRTS system was envisaged as a 59.38 km loop line connecting Chennai beach and Tiruvottiyur.

Since the planned railway line would pass through congested parts of the city, an elevated rail system was selected, as it would avoid land-acquisition problems. The project was intended to be implemented in four phases: Chennai beach to Thirumayilai, Tirumailai to St. Thomas Mount, St. Thomas Mount to Villivakkam and Villivakkam to Ennore.

Construction and opening
The project was sanctioned for implementation by the Ministry of Railways, Government of India in 1983–84. After multiple delays, construction began in 1991 and part of first phase from Chennai beach to Chepauk was completed in 1995. It became operational on 16 November 1995 and was the first operational elevated railway line in India. The line was extended to Thirumayilai in 1997. The cost of construction of the first phase between Chennai Beach and Thirumyilai was estimated to be inr 2800000000 which was fully financed by the Government of India. The first phase was projected to cater to 6 lakh passengers per day but the actual patronage turned out to be lesser than the projected estimates.

RITES conducted further studies in 1987 and 1994 on the effectiveness of the existing public transport system in catering to the growing population. Based on the studies, further expansion of the MRTS line was proposed. In 1998, the Railway Board accorded sanction of executing Phase II of the project from Thirumayilai to Velachery. Part of the phase II railway line from Thirumaylai to Thiruvanmiyur was opened on 27 June 2004. On 19 November 2007, the network was further extended from Thiruvanmiyur to Velachery. While Phase I was fully funded by the Government of India and the state government gave the required land, for Phase II, the state government contributed two-thirds of the total project cost of inr 6910400000.

The progress of different phases of the project is summarized below:

Future plan
The extended second phase of the project, connecting Velachery with St. Thomas Mount was not completed as planned due to alignment and land acquisition issues. According to the annual Railway Budget in 2012, it was expected that this line would be commission in 2013. In October 2012, land acquisition was resumed by CMDA after the Madras High Court vacated a stay on the same. There were further delays in land acquisition with land for about 0.5 km of the stretch and Puzuthivakkam station yet to be acquired in April 2013. Further cases were filed by land owners demanding higher compensation, based on the Land Acquisition Act 2013 in 2014. In March 2016, Southern Railway stated that the final phase of the MRTS will take at least 18 more months from the date of receiving land from the state government which is yet to be handed over to the Railways. In 2018, further discussion on land acquisition between the residents and the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) failed. While the Madras High Court directed the CMDA to pay higher compensation in 2019, the CMDA filed a review in the Indian Supreme Court against the same. The Supreme Court ordered that fair compensation be paid to the land owners and directed the CMDA to complete the land acquisition by 8 January 2021. Despite multiple plans to make the final stretch operational,, the line is still under construction. On 18 January 2024, a concrete girder which was being placed collapsed in the under construction section of the railway line, which is expected to delay the opening further.

The third and fourth phases of the MRTS were initially planned to connect St. Thomas Mount with Villivakkam and Villivakkam with Ennore, respectively. However, with the implementation of the Chennai Metro Rail, the plan for developing these two phases have been dropped, since these overlap with the alignment of the Chennai Metro Rail. With the implementation of the Chennai Metro Rail starting in 2015 and planned expansion of the same, the MRTS system was proposed to be merged and taken over by Chennai Metro Rail Limited in 2017. In July 2018, PwC said that the merger would be expensive costing around inr 30000000000 to change the train-sets and establish other facilities post the merger. On 11 May 2022, Southern Railway of the Indian Railways granted in-principle approval for the Chennai Metro to takeover the MRTS.

Route
The MRTS line is largely elevated, with at-grade sections at its terminals. From Beach to Chennai Park Town station, the line runs at grade, parallel to the suburban railway network. Following Chennai Park Town station, the line's first phase becomes elevated and follows the course of the Buckingham Canal, which runs parallel to the Coromandel Coast. The line remains elevated for the alignment of the second phase up to Perungudi, after which it returns to an at-grade section at Velachery. The 19 km line from Chennai Beach to Velachery is 15 km elevated and 4 km at surface. The ongoing 5 km extension of the line from Velachery to St. Thomas Mount is also elevated.

The route taken by the MRTS line has been criticized for choking the Buckingham Canal as many pillars of the elevated section of the railway have been placed on the canal bed. Although the canal itself has not been maintained and has been in decline due to fly tipping and sewage, the state government had proposed plans to restore it to make it navigable. However, a section of the canal will remain unavailable for navigation due to the presence of the pillars. The pillars have further reduced the canal width blocking the flow of storm water discharge during rains.

Stations
The MRTS line currently has 18 operational stations. The Chennai Beach station is a hub terminal for several suburban trains, and, along with Chennai Fort station, it serves the commercial area of Broadway. Chennai Park Town station is located opposite Chennai Central, which is a hub for both long-distance express trains and suburban trains. Places of tourist interest such as Parthasarathy Temple, Kapaleeshwarar Temple and Mundagakanniamman Koil are located along the MRTS railway line. Marina Beach spans along a stretch of the line closer to Thiruvallikeni station and the Chepauk station lies abutting the Chepauk cricket stadium.

The MRTS passes along the Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) which forms part of the information technology (IT) corridor with many companies located in the region. Upon completion of the St. Thomas Mount station at the southern end of the proposed alignment, the station will have three different types of railway networks, namely, the suburban and long-distance express trains which will ply on the conventional tracks at ground level, the elevated MRTS line at the first level and the Chennai Metro Rail at the second level. There are large, spacious stations on the existing MRTS line with attached parking lots and the stations are designed to accommodate six and nine-car train rakes.

Various plans have been made to make use of the empty space in the MRTS stations. In February 2009, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) planned to set up food stalls at 12 MRTS stations. In September 2013, the IRCTC invited tenders to set up food stalls at three stations Tirumayilai, Thiruvanmiyur and Velachery and the first such stall was inaugurated in April 2018 at Thiruvanmiyur station.

MRTS has been criticized for poor maintenance of stations, lack of inter-modal transport facility and security issues. The stations often face vandalism, seepage of rainwater through holes in the roofs and non-functional station amenities such as lifts and escalators.

In 2012, there was a shortage in the strength of the Railway Protection Force personnel at MRTS stations which raised security concerns. In 2013, in order to improve the security for the passengers using the network, it was declared that the MRTS stations would have a single designated entry and exit point as it was difficult for the existing RPF personnel to monitor multiple gates at the same time. If the planned take over of the MRTS system by Chennai Metro goes through, the existing line will be upgraded to make it compatible with the metro system and the infrastructure will be modernized with improved facilities at stations and single integrated ticketing system among others.

Track
The Chennai MRTS line bears greater resemblance to the Chennai Suburban Railway as opposed to a rapid transit line as it uses the same broad gauge (5 ft 6in) as the suburban railway system, thus allowing the usage of same train-sets in the existing suburban lines and the MRTS. Ballastless track is used between Tirumayilai and Velachery stations. The trains use 25 kV overhead catenary for traction.



Rolling stock
The Chennai MRTS uses nine-car electrical multiple unit train sets. A nine-car rake typically has three motor coaches each at the front, the middle and the last with electric motors used to drive the wheels of the train at a stipulated speed. In India, EMU coaches are manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai. The coaches are not air-conditioned and are equipped with first-class and second-class passenger seating.

Timing
The current operational route length between Chennai Beach and Velachery is 19.34 km and has a journey time of 45 minutes. The first train departs from Chennai Beach at 4:15 am, and the last one departs at 9:35 pm. From Velachery, the first train departs at 5:00 am to Chennai beach, with the last train departing Velachery at 10:20 pm. About 70 trips are operated on weekdays and 51 trips on Sundays and holidays.

The schedule for the MRTS services is available on Google Maps on Android smartphone devices. The trains can be tracked real time with consumers able to obtain updates through an automated SMS system.

Fares and ticketing
The minimum fare for a second class Chennai MRTS ticket is inr 5 and the maximum fare is capped at inr 10. First class tickets cost about five times higher than the second class fare. In addition to one-time tickets for travel, the Southern Railways issues monthly tickets and quarterly season tickets for more frequent travelers. Short validity tickets are available for tourists. Tickets can be bought at the counters or booked through mobile app.

Patronage
The ridership increased from approximately 25,000 in 2000 to 66,518 passengers per day in 2008. When the MRTS was extended up to Velachery in 2007, it saw a three-fold increase in the revenue. In 2015, the ridership increased to about 100,000 commuters a day. Of the system's 18 stations, Park Town, Thirumayilai, Thiruvanmiyur and Velachery account for nearly 40 percent of the ridership.

In a measure to increase patronage, the MRTS had adopted several schemes to draw potential passengers. In 2023, Chennai Urban Transport Authority (CUMTA) introduced plans to improve last-mile connectivity to improve usage. Indian Railways also operates special trains on certain occasions to boost revenue. As the route passes close to some of the most famous temples of Chennai, the MRTS operates special trains during popular religious festivals such as the Vaikunta Ekadashi at Parthasarathy Temple in Thiruvallikeni and Arupathumoovar festival at the Kapaleeshwarar Temple in Mylapore. Special trains are also run during cricket matches at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium at Chepauk, Kaanum Pongal at Marina Beach and bus strikes.

Access to the Chennai MRTS remains an issue as it does not fully integrate with other modes of transportation in the city. As per a survey conducted in 2012, special focus was required on pedestrian facilities that would provide access to MRTS stations from nearby roads and bus stops, apart from identifying new feeder routes for the network. Post the completion of the under construction extension, the MRTS system will be connected to the Chennai Suburban Railway and the Chennai Metro Rail at St. Thomas Mount. This will enable the commuters to access the railway grid of the different operational rail systems and facilitate improved connectivity from the stations on the MRTS network. The extension up to St. Thomas Mount is expected to increase patronage derived from people working in the IT establishments, residences and other offices near to the MRTS network.

Finances
In a ten month period in 2009–10, the MRTS earned a revenue of inr 127600000 with inr 122100000.00000001 from ticketing sales and had operating expenses of about inr 230000000, translating into losses of more than inr 100000000. As of 2023, the MRTS registered revenues of inr 200000000 annually. But with an estimated operational expenses of about inr 1050000000, the annual losses widened to inr 850000000. The losses are mainly due to the cheaper fares which are subsidized by the Southern Railway, which runs the service.