Chennai MRTS

The Tamil Nadu government had asked for a feasibility study for a new Metro railway system. It intrigues me that MRTS is not considered a metro transit. Instead of spending millions of rupees on a new system, the existing system should be transformed to a world class metro system. MRTS in chennai failed to have a vision right from the beginning. Having a status of the first elevated railway system in India did not elevate its stature. The one good thing that came out of MRTS is the clearance of slums and narrowing of the tribunals to the river coouam. First of all, it was this system that was thrown open even before the stations were fully constructed. The system is still not marketing itself to lure commuters. Right from the analysis stage to its finished product, nothing seems to be done in a professional manner, because it is the only system that took nearly 24 years to get to the development stage. This is a world record. The local railway officials had no say on its fare structures as New Delhi decided it. This attitude is part and parcel of the Indian Railways where the local divisions cannot decide what the systems can and can not offer. The survival of MRTS not only depends on its fare structure, but depends on what it can offer, which the other modes of transportation cannot. How can MRTS charge a similar fare when compared with DMRC Metro where the latter provides air-conditioned coach, automatic doors, etc? The only time I had seen MRTS at its fullest capacity is during the first week of its inauguration where the entire travel was free. Even now this system is arguably free from commuters and I am unsure that the second phase would yield the expected results if the current modality prevails. The only solution is, to decentralize MRTS by making it a separate entity and by merging it with the MTC, which is a common phenomenon in World wide Metro systems.