6 months ago
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The Southern Railway, having successfully completed the hold task of the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) from Velachery to St. Thomas Mount, awaits the proceedings tally to beryllium conducted by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), Southern circle, to motorboat services for the public.
The Southern Railway had initially planned to get the information certificate earlier the Pongal festival for launching the services. However, elder railway officials said the task is improbable to beryllium inaugurated by January. A elder authoritative of Southern Railway said the 4.5-km MRTS hold task from Velachery to St. Thomas Mount railway station, executed astatine a outgo of ₹734 crore has been completed.
Since the completion of the task past month, respective proceedings runs utilizing diesel engine-powered freight trains person been done successfully. The exertion for the information certificate of the MRTS hold project, which would person 2 stations, Puzhuthivakkam and Adambakkam, person been submitted.
Once the day for the proceedings tally is fixed by the CRS, the MRTS services would beryllium inaugurated, helium added.
Frequency decreased
The Southern Railway had operated bid services from Beach to Velachery astatine a spread of 15 minutes astatine slightest during highest hours. When the services were resumed aft 14 months, aft the completion of the 4th enactment task from Egmore to Beach, the Southern Railway has been operating trains astatine a frequence of 25 minutes, causing hardships to office-goers successful the greeting hours.
Metro takeover of MRTS
To transportation retired a broad translation of the MRTS web to Metro-standards, Chennai Metro Rail plans to statesman the upgrade with six stations and volition interval 4 bids shortly.
According to officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), with MoU signing betwixt the Tamil Nadu authorities and Southern Railway planned by the extremity of this month, CMRL proposes to telephone for 4 tenders — for procurement of trains, civilian repairs and upgradation, revamp of the depot oregon the attraction shed, and hiring of wide consultants.
The archetypal precedence volition beryllium to bring connected committee the wide consultants due to the fact that they volition assistance Chennai Metro Rail successful drafting the elaborate task study based connected their preliminary task study and to handhold them during the people of the takeover of the 19.3-km MRTS network.
“Initially, we privation to commencement the revamp successful six stations including Indira Nagar, Kasturba Nagar, Velachery, Taramani, Perungudi, and Thiruvanmiyur since each of them cannot beryllium taken up astatine the aforesaid time,” an authoritative said.
“The archetypal determination volition beryllium to heighten security, alteration the flooring and amended the upkeep. These improvements tin beryllium done soon. Replacement of lifts and escalators volition instrumentality immoderate clip arsenic these request astatine slightest 2 years for manufacturing and installation. Simultaneously, the remainder of the revamp enactment wrong stations excessively volition beryllium nether way” the authoritative said.
Following this, the renovation volition beryllium taken up successful the different stations too. Similarly, the transportation of the archetypal bid volition instrumentality astir 2 years from the clip of awarding the contract.
