The Hindu : Will Chennai wake up to need for Metro?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 13, 2003

National

National

Will Chennai wake up to need for Metro?

By Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

NEW DELHI FEB. 12. At a time when the Union Government is keen on developing Metro systems in all cities with a population of over 5 million and the same has been declared in the 10th Plan document, the nodal agency for implementing the plan, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, has expressed concern that Chennai is the only city which is not showing interest in the scheme.

The Managing Director of DMRC, E. Sreedharan, who is a member of the committee set up by the Union Ministry for Urban Development to prepare the National Policy on Urban Transport, is puzzled that while all the metropolitan cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Ahmedabad are moving ahead with plans or expansions for Metro, Chennai, for some reason, is silent.

``We first took up the issue of development of Metro in Chennai in January last with the Vice-Chairman of CMDA and have since followed it up with the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, on two occasions. But there has been no response,'' said Mr. Sreedharan, who has lived in Chennai for six years and believes that a city of that size needs a Metro system to keep down pollution and accident levels.

``A comprehensive traffic and transportation study carried out by M/s RITES in September 1995 clearly brought out that a number of arterial roads in the city will not be able to cope with the transportation needs by 2011,'' Mr. Sreedharan said adding that while the RITES report had not identified or recommended any particular road corridor to be augmented by a rail-based Metro system, the city should ideally by that year have at least five or six lines covering 100 to 120 km.

As for the MRTS project being implemented at present, Mr. Sreedharan said that even in his communication he had noted that the line along the Buckingham Canal was just an extension of the railway suburban system and that it did not serve the purpose of connecting the business district with the residential areas.

Chennai needed two Metro corridors immediately — from Beach to Guindy along Anna Salai and from St. George Fort to Anna Nagar along the Poonamallee High Road. From ground observations, it was clear that the two corridors could be decided on without any traffic-transportation study. The CMDA should take up techno-economic studies for the corridors to reach investment decisions and, therefore, move to the Detailed Project Report and implementation stages, he said.

Chennai would not need a heavy rail-based system as planned for Delhi. A medium capacity elevated system, capable of transporting 40,000 to 50,000 passengers an hour in each direction, would be sufficient.

``Chennai should wake up to the need for a Metro as its suburban railway system will not serve the needs of the city well.''

Noting that a techno-economic feasibility report for Chennai could be prepared by DMRC in six months to enable the State Government to take an investment decision on the "capital-intensive but socially useful" project, Mr. Sreedharan said that 40 per cent of the expenses for such a study would be borne by the Centre.

But, with Chennai not coming forth with an answer, Mr. Sreedharan is afraid that it might just "miss the bus.''

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