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Coordinates: 13.09233° N 80.29251° E

For the proposed metro, see Chennai Metro

MRTS is an initialism for Mass Rapid Transit System usually referring to a particular system of suburban rail network in Chennai with tracks running on a raised platform.

Chennai, India's fourth-largest urban agglomeration, has a well-established Suburban Railway Network, which dates back to 1931, when services began on the metre-gauge line from Beach to Tambaram. Two more suburban services were begun in 1985 — Chennai Central to Arakkonam and Chennai Central to Gummidipoondi, both of which were broad-gauge services. See List of Chennai MRTS stations for a list of MRTS stations in Chennai.

Contents 1 Phase One 2 Phase Two 3 Phase Three 4 General information 5 Second Phase Extension 6 Final Draft/Secondary Planning 7 Phase Information 8 See also

In the 1980s, the Government began planning for a new railway line inside the city. The Suburban Lines offered no connectivity to Central and South Madras (as Chennai was known then). Planning began in 1985 and construction was started in 1991 . The first phase was much delayed and finally opened in 1997. The section of the line encompassing the first three Stations — Beach, Fort and Park Town, is at grade; after Park Town it begins climbing. All the Stations after Park Town — Chintadripet, Chepauk, Tiruvallikeni, Lighthouse and Thirumaylai are elevated. The Line from Park Town to Thirumaylai follows the course of the Buckingham Canal, which runs parallel to the Coromandel Coast.

The second phase of the MRTS was meant to connect Thirumaylai to Velachery, a southern suburb. Till Perungudi station all the staions are elevated. One of he main station in this strtech is the Thiruvanmiyur Station which is just opposite to the Tidel Park. The elevated track between Thiruvanmiyur and Velachery was opened to public by the Tamilnadu Chief Minister Mr. M Karunanidhi on November 19, 2007.

With this Velachery and Beach stations will be connected with 58 trips every day.

Tenders for the third phase (technically second phase) of the project i.e Velachery to St. Thomos Mount has also been called for and the project is likely to take-off shortly.

Each MRTS Station is designed by a different architect and is built to accommodate a full length EMU (Electric Multiple Unit) rake, possibly consisting of 9 cars. But currently, only 3-car rakes are run on the Line, as the traffic on the MRTS Line is considerably less than the 3 Suburban Lines, where 9-car rakes run daily. Though the headway is expected once the patronage increases steadily. The MRTS runs from Beach to Velachery in about 40 minutes (compared to 2 hours in peak hours for the same distance). The first train from Beach starts at 6.05 am and runs till 8.30 pm. In reverse the first train from Velachery starts at 6.50 am and runs till 9.15 pm. The trains run on the MRTS are 'normal' EMUs, and do not have automatic doors like a Metro Train. This is because the MRTS is considered to be an elevated extension of the Suburban Network and not a Metro System, as such. However, the MRTS can be considered a Metro, since it is elevated for the majority of its length, and its services are exclusive, i.e. no other trains run on the MRTS Line.

The extension from Thiruvanmiyur to Velachery was expected to be completed by the end of 2004, but project was delayed and finally in July 2007 the track inspector had given a green signal for passenger services to open. But passenger services were delayed and finally it was inaugurated on 19th November 2007, by the Tamilnadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi. Planning has begun for Phase Three, which will connect Velachery to St. Thomas Mount, a station on the Beach - Tambaram Line next to the Meenambakkam Airport, effectively creating a changeover point between the two lines. This also creates a convenient connection between the eastern coast, the IT corridor and areas between Chennai Central and Anna International Airport.

The planned route for the MRTS will see it turn North after St Thomas Mount and touch the Suburban Line to Arakkonam at Villivakkam before continuing further North East and eventually going down to Grade, i.e. Surface Level again and merging with the Suburban Line to Gummidipoondi at Tondiarpet. The Project is already behind schedule and after the government approved plans for the Chennai Metro, one of whose lines has the same alignment, the MRTS project may never progress beyond St Thomas Mount.

Phase	Length (elevated) in km	Route	Stations	Cost (Initial Estimate) in crore rupees	Sanction	Opening
Phase I	8.55 (5.80)	Chennai Beach - Thirumayilai	8	260 (53.46)	1984	1997
Phase II	11.16 (7.84)	Thirumayilai - Velachery	9	665 (733.4)	1998	19th Nov. 2007
Phase II Ext	5 (5)	Velachery - St. Thomas Mount	3	(417)	2007	Exp. 2008
Phase III	16.76 (~10.76)	St. Thomas Mount- Padi/Villivakkam	10	N/A	-	-

source:CMDA

Indira Nagar

Thiruvanmiyur

Taramani I

Velachery

• Chennai suburban railway
• List of rapid transit systems
• List of Indian trains

v • d • e Rapid transit in India
Metro Systems	Ahmedabad Metro†† • Bangalore Metro† • Chennai Metro†† • Delhi Metro • Hyderabad Metro†† • Kolkata Metro • Mumbai Metro† •
Suburban Railway Systems (Indian Railways)	Chennai MRTS • Chennai Suburban Railway• Delhi Ring Railway • Hyderabad MMTS • Kolkata Suburban Railway• Mumbai Suburban Railway
Bus Rapid Transit Systems	Ahmedabad BRTS • Pune BRTS
†Under Construction • ††Planned