Bharat Rakshak

..Ahh bliss onleee!

There is some animosity towards IT-Vity folks in Chennai and any politician seen putting up facilities will likely go down. IT-Vity people are only to be milked and pay taxes.

The argument would not have reopened if the Metro lines were not maxing out so quickly. My argument is they could have kept the SG bogies but used BG coaches and kept the best of both worlds.

The only possible solution to today’s situation says Sreedharan, is that the bureacracy needs to change it’s mindset and make better and more responsible decisions. Citing the example of the Kochi metro project which he is now handling, Sreedharan said that the Kochi Metro project was was conceived in 2005, during which time the cost was only Rs 2500 crores. “All politicians wanted the project to come up — the communists, the Congress, all — but, the bureaucrats were stalling it simply as a plea that it should be done as a public private partnership (PPP) model — knowing well that in a PPP model no one is going to come and invest unless he knows that he is going to get a return out of it,” he said, adding, “Now, the cost has gone up from Rs 2,500 crores to Rs 5,100 crore. Who do you blame for this? You can’t blame the politicians. The bureaucrats did not take the right decision at the right time.”

Sreedharan said that the bureaucrats should have realised that private entities are after all businessmen and they will look for profits. Hence, they should realise that “Projects that you know are very viable, can be done in PPP but those that have a social aspect — meant to only serve society — and we don’t expect a business return, we can’t have it on a PPP model.”

With roughly a year left for the first signs of Chennai’s metro rail, the countdown has officially begun.

The focus now, for Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), is the stretch between Koyambedu and St. Thomas Mount that is part of corridor II of the Rs. 14,600-crore project.

About 50 per cent of track laying has been completed on the stretch. The elevated stretch has eight stations, including Koyambedu and St. Thomas Mount.

The track along this stretch will be over 10 km in length and so far, double-tracks (for the two lines) have been laid for a distance of 4.3 km, according to V. Somasundaram, chief general manager (construction), CMRL.

“The remaining length will be nearly completed in three to four months,” he said.

Simultaneously, pending civil work, including construction of stations and the portion of the corridor over Kathipara junction, will go on and is expected to be completed in six months, the official said.

To date, 75 per cent of the civil works are complete, according to CMRL. Once the track-laying work is completed, signalling work will be taken up. That should take about four months’ time, said officials. If the deadlines are met, CMRL proposes to begin its trial run by July this year.

“We will conduct speed trials for the rolling stock first,” Mr. Somasundaram said. This will be followed by testing, to ensure that all the signals work in a coordinated manner.

Meeting the deadline

According to CMRL, the deadline for the elevated stretch is the first quarter of 2014. Engineers at different Metro sites said a three- to five-month delay could be expected in the project.

A massive project such as this, an engineer said, had to overcome different hurdles at various points. “Right from land acquisition to shortage of river sand for construction, there are a host of issues,” said an engineer working at one of the underground stations along Anna Salai.

However, CMRL maintained it was doing its best. “Our contractors are purchasing river sand at a higher rate so that the shortage — which is putting pressure on the construction industry at large — does not affect work on Metro Rail,” a CMRL official said.

Complex construction

The elevated stretch between Koyambedu and St. Thomas Mount has to accommodate a complex structure over Kathipara junction.

Known as the balanced cantilever, this bridge-like structure will come up at a height of about 25 metres above the road, and connect with the Metro corridor on two sides of the clover leaf-shaped flyover. Work has begun and will be completed in six months, Mr. Somasundaram sa

Considerable truth in that.OTOH,a MRTS line will accelerate development in OMR and this could be one of the economic powerhouses of the future in the entire SE Asia region.TN is now so far into industrialisation/services that it cannot go back.It requires more and more investment/technology/people and a positive attitude.If I were a betting man,I will go for MRTS before Jaya finishes her term.There are huge apartment complexes+IT +educational institutions.If connectivity is given from tiruporur to Chingelput line it will give an alternate line into Chennai.

I am pretty positive,but right now the middle of OMR is occupied by light poles.They will have to be removed for elevated line.

AFAIK, the already sanctioned Chennai-Cuddalore rail line (IR) project is set to start from a spot adjacent to Perungudi MRTS Station (look for a huge set of sidings there on your left as you travel towards VLCY - the space and basic facilities are already in place) and continue along Buckingham Canal parallel to OMR before shooting off away around Shozhinganallur or so. I don't have the timelines for start of construction or completion, but this defininitely is a project where some early iterations of alignment have already been prepared. The space at Perungudi can be used for making St. Thomas Mount another starting/end point for long distance trains therefore decongesting Egmore.

So take it FWIW.

anyone try the test run of the Mumbai metro