In a significant development to improve the integration of Suburban mobility in Greater Chennai Area, the Ministry of Railways has accorded Approval for the transfer of Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) of Chennai and its merger with Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL). This long awaited decision will streamline the train operations and enable seamless intermodal connectivity in the city transport.
The approval follows a detailed presentation made by Southern Railway to Railway Board, recommending the proposal and subsequent deliberations in the meeting of Full Board held on 16th July 2025. The formal communication of the approval was issued on 31st July 2025.
The approval entails the transfer of all infrastructural assets of MRTS including tracks, Bridges, Signalling, Electrifcation, Land, Buildings, etc, as well as the operations and maintenance of MRTS services to the Government of Tamil Nadu/CMRL, for which a detailed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is under preparation.
The Broad principles and framework approved for preparing the detailed MoU include:
1)Land :
Land belonging to Government of Tamil Nadu currently with MRTS, will be reverted back to Government of Tamil Nadu
Southern Railway’s Land currently in operational use by MRTS, will be leased to Govt of Tamil Nadu.
2)Infrastructure :
Infrastructure like Track, Bridges, OHE, Signals, Buildings etc., will be transferred to Government of Tamil Nadu at current depreciated value.
3)Rolling Stocks :
EMUs funded by Government of Tamil Nadu, will be reverted back to Govt. Tamil Nadu on as-is-where-is basis.
EMUs belonging to Railway currently plying on MRTS, may continue with MRTS for a grace period of two years free of cost including maintenance. After two years, they will be reverted back to SR, else depreciated value will be paid by the Govt. of Tamil Nadu.
4)Transit Period :
SR will handhold and train the CMRL staff for operations and asset maintenance (Infra, Rolling stock and O&M) for the initial two years, by continuing its staff as deployed presently free of cost.
During this period CMRL will also recruit and train their own staff for above activities and create maintenance infrastructure.
If the process of taking over not completed in two years, SR may continue to operate MRTS system by charging Govt of Tamil Nadu for operation and maintenance on actual cost basis.
5)MRTS interface with Southern Railway trains at Chennai Beach and Chennai Fort :
Some stretches of SR infrastructure required to be used by MRTS Services in future also, such as yard of Fort and Chennai Beach. The modalities (access charges etc) for the same will be decided by joint committee of SR and Government of Tamil Nadu.
Chennai MRTS:
Phased Development:
The MRTS commenced operations in October 1997, initially covering the Chennai Beach – Chepauk stretch. Over the years, it was extended in phases, with the final extension up to Velachery completed in November 2007, which is currently operational. The ongoing extension from Velachery to St. Thomas Mount, covering 5 km with 3 stations namely, Adambakkam, Puzhuthivakkam, St. Thomas Mount, is under advanced stages of construction.The MRTS corridor, upon full completion up to St. Thomas Mount, spans approximately 25 km, encompassing 21 stations.
MRTS currently serves approximately 1 lakh passengers per day, with demand concentrated during peak hours from office-goers and students.
Benefits of the Merger:
The merger aligns with the public centric vision of creating an upgraded, integrated, and sustainable urban rail transport ecosystem for Chennai Region and a fine example of synergy between Railways and the Government of Tamil Nadu working in close coordination. The merger will provide seamless multimodal Integration across Metro, MRTS, Suburban Rail networks and Bus Services in Chennai.
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