More Metro Rail lines needed per Chennai’s Comprehensive Mobility Plan: CMRL Managing Director

Chennai Metro Rail Limited's MD M.A. Siddique said 451 km of lines need to be added to the network, requiring ₹1 lakh crore investment. Union Minister L. Murugan highlighted Centre's infrastructure projects benefitting TN. CII-TN's Infrastructure Summit 2023 discussed data centres, EV infrastructure & single ticketing system.

Speaking at a session of the Confederation of Indian Industry-Tamil Nadu’s (CII-T.N.) Infrastructure Summit 2023, Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) Managing Director M.A. Siddique said there was a requirement for more Metro Rail lines to the network, as the Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) for the Chennai Metropolitan Area released in 2019 has projected an addition of 451 km of lines.

“We currently have 54 km of Metro lines. In Phase II, 116 km of lines are being added at a cost of ₹63,246 crore. Even after this, we will have to add 281 km. An investment of ₹1 lakh crore will be required,” he said speaking at the session. This year’s theme for the summit is ‘Building Future Ready Infrastructure for a Trillion-dollar Economy by 2030’.

With both the Centre and State governments focusing on Metro Rail development, this may happen in the next 10 years, Mr. Siddique said. Chennai should not be compared with other Indian cities. It should be compared with the likes of Singapore, Seoul, and Hong Kong, which have 30-50 km of Metro lines per 1 million population, he added. After the completion of the 116-km Phase II project, we will have 14 km of lines per 1 million population. And completing the remaining 281 km will take us to 35 km of lines per 1 million population, Mr. Siddique said. He also said an updated CMP is being worked out and the numbers would change further.

Admitting to the issue of peak-hour rush, he said there was a need to augment the rolling stock. “We are currently operating with 52 train sets. We plan to move from four cars to six cars and already have a proposal to procure trains at a cost of ₹2,500 crore. It is pending for [want of] funding approval from multilateral agencies. The new trains will take two years to come,” he said.

Mr. Siddique said work was also on to set up a single ticketing system across various modes of transport, and the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) was working to integrate all modes of transport. “We have already launched the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) or Singara Chennai Card which can be used with other modes of transport once the facility is made available,” he said.

“We are also working on making QR codes available across various modes of transport and enabling use of ‘on-tap facility’ for bank cards,” Mr. Siddique said, adding that an expression of interest would be invited from electric vehicle (EV) players for last-mile connectivity in five Metro stations, including Koyambedu and Alandur.

Speaking at the inaugural session, Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying and Information and Broadcasting L. Murugan highlighted the various infrastructure projects undertaken by the Centre. He noted that projects, such as the PM Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (MITRA) Parks scheme, Housing for All, defence corridor, development of ports and national highways, and the Jal Jeevan Mission, have benefitted Tamil Nadu.