CHENNAI: The State Government has decided to go in for a monorail project to meet the demands of the rapidly burgeoning traffic in Chennai.

This means the Government has given up its earlier proposal for a metro network comprising surface/elevated/tube rail. The Government had appointed the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to conduct a detailed study for the network.

The Corporation entrusted the survey work to various agencies. This included RITES (the Rail India Technical and Economic Service), which conducted soil sample surveys in the city. The Corporation was about to submit its report when the Government decided to opt for monorail.

The Metropolitan Transport Corporation (Chennai) is the nodal agency for the elevated monorail project. The Government has also set up a project office at Pallavan House. A global tender for selecting the implementing agency for the design, build, own, operate and transfer (DBOOT) project has been floated. The last date for submission of tender is February 10.

The MTCL, according to tender documents, has identified 10 main corridors and 21 feeder corridors.

The implementing agency will be required to make the project operational within 10 years from the date of signing the agreement, with a minimum of 50 km to be operational out of the 100 km to be built in the first three years and 150 km in the next three years and the balance in four more years.

The Government will make available the land to the implementing agency. If it is government land, it will given to the agency on a long-term lease basis. If it is private land, the Government will acquire it for being handed over to the agency on a concessional basis. The agency will have the right to collect fares, which will, however, be fixed by the Government.

The following are some of the corridors selected by the MTCL: Parrys-Guduvancherry; Parrys-Poonamallee; Parrys-Porur; Parrys-Avadi; Parrys-Red Hills; Parrys-Parrys (via Mylapore, Raja Annamalaipuram, Guindy, Ekkattuthangal, Vadapalani, Anna Nagar, Chintamani, Kilpauk, Kellys, Elephant Gate, Stanley Medical College); Parrys-Manali new town, Halda-Medavakkam; Anna Statue-Adyar, Virugambakkam-Santhome; Egmore-Madras Fertiliser Junction; Saidapet-Anna Nagar Roundtana; Ayanavaram-Ambattur Estate; Aminjikarai-Ambattur Estate; Parrys-Kelambakkam; Gandhi Statue, Villiwakkam-Nathamuni Theatre; and Foreshore Estate-Nungabakkam.

MTCL sources said the project would not affect the existing traffic nor would it cause any traffic congestion, as it would be set up along the road meridians. One of the tender conditions was that the project should not, in any way, disrupt the traffic during implementation.

The sources claimed Chennai would be the first metropolitan city to have the monorail system.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail