CHENNAI METRO RAIL TO ADD SPEED, COOL QUOTIENT TO MRTS
AC Coaches, New Signal Systems, More Services Planned
Air-conditioned coaches and faster trains aren't really what regular commuters on the Mass Rapid Transit Sys tem are used to--but if metro rail does take it over, they will be the ones to benefit. Metro rail also has its eye on improving the MRTS stations and making them user-friendly and lively .
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rail is already rolling up its sleeves to take charge and has made plans to replace existing rakes on the 19km line from Chennai Beach to Velachery with new airconditioned coaches.
A single body overseeing the two systems will lead to inte grated services and seamless connectivity. The timing of MRTS trains, for instance, could be planned to make it easier for commuters to hop onto the metro to complete their journey .
A senior CMRL official said the first priority would be to improve lighting and security for passengers in the massive structures housing the MRTS sta Ai tions. “These huge buildings are quite isolated and this makes it unpopular among commuters, especially women,“ he said.
They will also add better facilities at the stations to draw passengers in as well as look to tap the commercial po tential of the large spaces. “Developing stations and ensuring connectivity with bus and other public transport systems will revitalize the MRTS,“ he said.
At present, MRTS carries more than 80,000 passengers a day along the Beach station-Velachery corridor. It estimates commuter traffic to touch two lakh passengers a day once it is extended to link Velachery with St Thomas Mount.
CMRL sources said they would be replacing the present signalling system of MRTS, which allows only one service every six minutes. “The sixminute gap is a barrier to any further upgradation of MRTS. Our plans in clude a change in the signalling sys tem to the metro rail technology, which allows services every 400m. This would improve the number of services and passenger strength,“ the official said. MRTS runs 134 services a day with a gap of 15 minutes be tween services during peak hours. The official said the same rolling stock would be used at first and maintenance and operational systems would continue with the help of the railways. “We will replace all the coaches with air-conditioned ones in two or three years and the coaches will have integrated information system for passengers,“ he said.
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