Chennai Mass Rapid Transit System

The MRTS (Mass Rapid Transit System) is a high-speed railway in Chennai, the capital of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It consists of a 19.4 km long track with 17 stations and covers most of a viaduct.

History

The plans for the MRTS began in 1984. The MRTS was designed as a supplement to Chennaier suburban train (Chennai Suburban Railway) to open up the middle and southern parts of the city. The construction work was started in 1991. The first section from Chennai Beach to Chepauk was opened in 1995. In 1997 the section was followed up Thirumylai. In second phase, the MRTS has been extended to Velachery first 2007. By 2013, the second expansion phase should be finished with the completion of the section to the St. Thomas Mount. The MRTS is then include a 24.7 km long track with 20 train stations.

Route network

The MRTS runs from Chennai Beach Station to Velachery. They mostly runs in a north-south direction parallel to the coast of the Gulf of Bengal. The first section from Chennai Beach is flat ground, after the third station, the Park Town MRTS is the elevated train. Between Parktown and Thirumylai the MRTS elevated follows the course of the Buckingham Canal. In the last section between Perungudi and Velachery MRTS runs back up the ground.

Operation

The MRTS is operated by the Southern Railway, a subsidiary of the Indian Railways. Technically traffic but it is separated from the also operated by the Southern Railway Chennaier suburban railway. Because of their separate traffic management, the MRTS meets the criteria of a subway, but it will run on regular local trains and even as subway (Metro ) refers.

The MRTS is true so far as failure. Between April 2009 and January 2010, she drove a loss of 100 million rupees. In 2009, the MRTS of around 80,000 passengers per day was used. Passenger numbers are less than 20 percent of the planned capacity. One reason is the lack of access to the city bus network.

In parallel to the MRTS in Chennai is currently the Chennai Metro under construction, whose opening is scheduled for mid-2014. It is considered possible that the operation of the MRTS is taken from the Metro Chennai, once this is operating.