Chennai Metro Rail takeover of MRTS: Revamp of stations to start soon

The Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) plans to start revamping the MRTS stations in the city in another six months. From deploying security personnel to significantly enhancing the upkeep, Chennai Metro Rail has begun drawing up plans for the MRTS network.

Some days back, the Railway Board gave its nod for Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) to take over the MRTS network—from Chennai Beach to Velachery—after a protracted delay. While the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is yet to be signed between the Tamil Nadu government and Railways, CMRL plans to make some headway with station improvement for the convenience of commuters.

According to officials of CMRL, they plan to bring on board a consultant to carry out a study on improving the station infrastructure of the MRTS system. “We don’t want to wait for the signing of the MoU to finalise the consultant. This is because by that time, we can be ready with the study on how to upgrade the stations. We will float bids later this week or early next week. Subsequently, once MoU is in place, in about three months, we will get an initial report from the consultant with which we will know how to improve the station facilities,” an official said.

With the initial report from the consultant, CMRL will yet again call for tenders and finalise a firm who will refurbish the stations. Officials said, since each of the MRTS stations is enormous in size, they are going to do it in parts.

“This means, we will earmark the area which is used by the maximum number of passengers and first take that up for upgrades. For instance, if the report identifies a specific area with high footfall, in that space, everything from additional manpower, maintenance of lifts, escalators and restrooms to thorough cleaning will begin initially. Then, gradually, we will extend it to other parts of the station too over a period,” another official said.

Shankaran, a resident of Velachery and a frequent commuter in the MRTS system said, he feels quite relieved to know that the stations will undergo transformation soon. “Every commuter wants MRTS stations too to be maintained like the CMRL stations. But the State government should also ensure that fares are not as steep as the Chennai Metro Rail system. In MRTS, people from all walks of life travel because it is still affordable. If they are a combination of air-conditioned and non air-conditioned coaches, then the fares will be economical,” he added.