CHENNAI: As the State government prepares to assume responsibility before the eventual transfer of MRTS to the Chennai Metro Rail Limited, the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) has proposed an alternative plan for doubling the Fort-Beach section within the two-year transition period.
The Fort-Beach stretch is the last link of the MRTS route towards Chennai Beach, through which trains from the southern corridor have to enter and leave the Beach terminal. The section is currently single-line, which restricts operations.
"With the Reserve Bank of India refusing to part with the land sought for the expansion, we have proposed an alternative plan involving the use of 3-4 metres of space along the Corporation road on the High Court side for the additional track," I Jeyakumar, Special Officer, CUMTA, told DT Next.
The additional line is expected to bring the interval down from around 20 minutes to about 5 minutes.
"Railways is working on the proposal. There will be an additional cost, which we will have to bear, and the idea is to complete the doubling within these two years," Jeyakumar said.
Under the MRTS-CMRL merger plan, the Southern Railway will continue core train operations and maintenance for 24 months, and the ticket and non-fare revenue collected during the transition will be remitted to the Railways. The two-year period will also be used to prepare the CMRL to eventually take over train operations and procure new rolling stock.
CUMTA, which is coordinating the takeover, has estimated an expenditure of Rs 5-6 crore a month, or around Rs 60-70 crore annually, during these two years. This covers station maintenance, security and housekeeping personnel, ticket counters, toilets, lifts and escalators. These responsibilities are to pass to the State within 90 days of signing the merger Memorandum of Understanding.
"If we want to improve a station or even whitewash a place, the Railways will have some reservations. So we said, within 90 days we will take over everything, bear the expenditure and then let the Railways run the train," the official said.
The authority has requested a meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary, expected in the first or second week of October, to discuss the financial implications of the takeover.