Chennai Monorail

Chennai Monorail is a rail-based transit system for the Indian city of Chennai. It is proposed in the Long-term Urban Transportation Scheme of Second Master Plan by CMDA. The state government has announced plans to introduce monorail across City to reduce traffic congestion and to increase the share of public transport in the urban transport network. The aim is to increase the share of public transport in Chennai from 27% to 46% by 2026.^[1]

The project has been moving in fits and starts right from the time it was proposed in 2006. Since the first tender in 2011, conditions have been watered down several times and tenders have lapsed thrice failing to attract bidders. As of January 2015, only two bidders remain after the Request For Qualification process of the ongoing bidding attempt.^[2]

The tender process to choose the contractor has been stuck in second gear for more than three years now as the project is as expensive as metro rail but does not have the same passenger capacity as the metro. While metro rail has the capacity to carry 45,000 passengers per direction, monorail can manage just about 10,000. ^[3]

History

The Tamil Nadu Government invited bids for the ambitious 'Elevated Monorail Mass Rapid Transit System' (EMMRTS) monorail project covering over 300 km to be implemented at a single phase.^[4] Soon after a public interest litigation was filed in High Court, Chennai against awarding of the contract and the court ordered the government not to award the final contract without its prior permission. Since chances of the metro rail getting approval by central government which consisted of archrival DMK, were remote, the less expensive mono rail was preferred. A total of 18 corridors had been proposed.^[5] Had the project been executed, it would have been the biggest monorail project in the planet dwarfing any other monorail in the world. However, soon she was voted out of power and the monorail project was shelved. Again, when the new AIADMK government came to power in 2011, the Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, through the Governor Surjit Singh Barnala's address to the assembly, stated that the Chennai Monorail project of around 300 km will be revived and would supplement the existing metro rail systems that were implemented with assistance from Japanese loans and central government funding.

Proposed corridors in 2006

The following 18 corridors were proposed to be completely built within 18 months.

Total Route Length – 333.1 km
Common Length – 32.9 km
Track Length – 300.2 km

Corridors proposed in second master plan

Two corridors have been proposed in the Second Master Plan by CMDA.^[6][7] These corridors have been proposed as a feeder service for Chennai MRTS, Chennai Metro, Chennai Suburban Railway and Metropolitan Transport Corporation.

Corridor 1: Dams Road Junction - Royapettah - Thiruvanmayur - Adyar - Guindy (Halda Junction)
Corridor 2: Lighthouse MRTS Station - Anna flyover - Kilpauk - Perambur

Planned corridors (Phase I)

The Four corridors have been identified based on a feasibility study prepared by the Pallavan Transport Consultancy Services Ltd. A crisscrossing network of monorail corridors, running to a total length of 111 km with four corridors, is being planned by the State government and plans to complete the first phase of the monorail project within two years.^[8] The network includes a 54-km link between Vandalur and Puzhal, which when completed would be the longest anywhere in the world. The developer will be responsible to (DBFOT) design, construct, finance, own, maintain and transfer the project after a period of 30 years. Monorail stations would be aesthetically designed, with minimal use of concrete. Initially, a four-car monorail train is expected to run along an elevated narrow guide way that would come up on the road median. The capacity of one train would be about 560 passengers, which translates to a capacity of about 10,000 passengers per hour per direction.

Revised corridors (Phase I)

The State government has decided to drop one of the four monorail lines that were supposed to be built in the city. While originally an ambitious 111-km long Phase-I network was proposed to be constructed the revised target means the monorail grid would be only 57-km. The corridor from Vandalur to Puzhal via Avadi (54 km) has been axed because it runs through "undeveloped areas with no pre-existing traffic in the alignment", making it "financially unviable". If it had been built, it would have been the longest monorail corridor in the world.^[9]

The revised 57-km long Phase-I of Chennai Monorail is estimated to cost ₹ 80,500 million. It is proposed to constitute a network of three elevated corridors –Vandalur to Velachery via Tambaram East (23 km); Poonamallee to Kathipara via Porur (16 km); and Poonamallee to Vadapalani via Valasarawakkam (18 km). The fourth line may be considered in the subsequent phases of the project. He said several monorail manufacturers had expressed the non-viability of building a 54-km monorail line (Vandalur to Puzhal) using existing technologies even during the previous tendering process. In the second phase, Asia’s longest monorail corridor from Vandalur to Puzhal would be taken up.

The much-anticipated monorail is expected to have nearly three dozen stations in Chennai and its suburbs. The stations will come up at places that are good crowd generation points. The locations under consideration will have sufficient space for accommodating a station. The accessibility to these stations is also taken into consideration. An expert team was formed to scout for monorail stations sites. The team, comprising personnel from MTC, PTCS and a private consultancy firm, were given a time period of ten days to study and come up with sites where monorail stations can come up.^[10] Poonamallee and Vadapalani stations are expected to get monorail depots, where the monorails could be berthed and maintained. The Kathipara station will boast of the multi-modal transport system with the monorail integrating with MRTS, Metro Rail, and EMU service.

Revised corridors (2014)

The government's realigned monorail route will connect Poonamallee in the northwest of Chennai and Vandalur in the far south through two corridors that will meet near the Kathipara intersection.

corridor-1 (Poonamallee - Porur - Vadapalani/Kathipara) Work on the first corridor is expected to begin in August-2014, with the government having issued tenders for the project. When completed, the 21 km first corridor will link Poonamallee and Kathipara, via Kumaranchavadi, Porur and Nandambakkam, with a wishbone line forking off to Vadapalani

corridor-2 (Vandalur - Medavakkam - Velacheri - Kathipara) The government is expected to soon announce the alignment for the second corridor between Vandalur and Kathipara, via Perungalathur, Irumbuliyur, Tambaram East, Sembakkam, Medavakkam and Velacherry.^[11]

Revised plan cost and funding model In 2011, the State Government issued a request for qualification (RFQ) for 111-km phase I network cost ₹166.50 billion or ₹1.50 billion for each km. However, in the (2014) revised plan, the Government will start with the 20.68 km monorail at ₹1564.3 million per km. The revised route plan comes at a slightly higher cost per km than earlier planned, but, will be offered to private companies under the Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer basis. This means there will not be any financial commitment for the State Government. As per the new plan, Corridor-1 - 20.68-km from Poonamallee to Kathipara with a link from Porur to Vadaplani - is expected to cost ₹32.35 billion.^[12] The Vandalur-Velachery corridor (more than 23-km) is expected to cost at least ₹40 billion for which the State government has decided to seek assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). ^[13] JICA has clarified that as long as the proposal is to undertake the work under the PPP model, it is not eligible for funding. JICA funding would be made available only under wholly public funded model.^[14]

Stations (to be updated pending announcement for updated corridor-2 alignment)

A total of 37 stations on paper, in reality it will be 34 as the monorails running between Poonamallee and Kathipara and Poonamallee to Vadapalani stretches will be halting at two common stations (Karayanchavadi and Kumananchavadi besides the source station Poonamallee). The first Corridor – Vandalur to Velachery (23 km) — will have 14 stations, 12 stations will come up along the Poonamallee - Vadapalani Corridor (18 km) and 11 along the third corridor – Poonamallee to Kathipara junction (16 km).^[15]

Tender process

• 15 August 2011:The Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC), the nodal agency for implementing the project has called for Submission of Request for Qualification (RFQ) for the proposed Chennai Monorail Mass Rapid Transit System on Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) Basis.^[16] The role of Tamil Nadu state government will be limited to fixing fares based on a concessionaire agreement.
• 8 September 2011:Pre-bid conference for monorail project held. It was an opportunity for prospective bidders to seek clarifications about the scope of the project and the tendering process.^[17] Over 10 entities attended the pre-bid meeting, only three – L&T-Hitachi and firms from Malaysia and the United Kingdom – cleared the technical criteria set by the government. The pre-qualification stage of the bidding process initiated by the State government would come to a close on 28 September.
• 1 December 2011:The State government took a decision to re-float the tender for the construction of a 111-km-long monorail network in the city. Chief Minister Jayalalithaa expressed unhappiness over the pace at which the monorail project was progressing at a review meeting. There was a suggestion to re-float the tender to see if there would be more participation, but a final decision took shape early this week.^[18] A Mumbai-based firm, Fortress Financial Service, has been nominated as the official consultant for the project.
• 25 January 2012:Pre-application conference was held at the Metropolitan Transport Corporation headquarters, Chennai. This is the first step of the fresh global competitive bidding process which was initiated on 1 December after the previous tender was annulled because of limited participation. All applicants would have to submit their proposal by 20 February, following which the government's Empowered Monorail Committee would pre-qualify and shortlist suitable applicants. The 'qualified' applicants would enter a round of financial bidding. A two-month period is likely to be given to prepare a Detailed Project Report for the implementation of a monorail system along four elevated corridors, totaling 111-km.^[19]
• 22 February 2012: Hyderabad-based Capital Fortunes Private Limited (CFPL) will assist the monorail cell in identifying the implementing agency for the monorail project. The implementing agency will also soon be finalized as the officials are all set to open the financial bid documents on 19 March.^[20] This apart, officials denied reports that one of the four proposed lines Vandalur to Puzhal would be axed. "Though it has been decided to go with three corridors, the Vandalur to Puzhal stretch is still in the reckoning. The bids will be floated for the corridor separately. The alignment will be broken into two portions."
• 19 March 2012:The government opened the financial bids received for the much-awaited, ₹ 80,500 million monorail project. Received financial bids from eight reputed developers across the world which would be scrutinised by the Hyderabad-based consultancy firm. It is learnt that it would take at least two weeks to finalise the developer. The empowered monorail committee, headed by the chief secretary is authorized to take a final call. Some participants are Malaysian firm Scomi international, players from Spain (Kafe India), Japan (Hitachi) and China have participated in the tendering process.^[21]
• 5 June 2012:The government finalising five project developers for the second and final stage, while rejecting three firms' bids at the opening phase, after a high-level discussion "Of the eight consortia of firms that had participated in the initial stage of bidding process (request for qualification), three firms, including Met-rail, M-rail, have been disqualified, while five other firms, including Scomi International private limited, Hitachi and Bombardier, L&T, and Gammon and IL&FS have qualified for the final stage - request for proposals,". The project promoters for the next stage were finalised after a meeting of the empowered committee headed by chief secretary and secretaries of a few other departments.^[22][23]
• 3 Feb 2014:A state government undertaking has issued request for qualification (RFQ) from interested parties to develop the proposed $522-million (about Rs 32.35 billion - for corridor 1) project. The estimated length of the line is 20.68 km. The project will be taken up through public-private partnership (PPP) on a design, build, finance operate and transfer (DBFOT) basis.^[24]
• 25 Aug 2014 The state government has relaxed certain norms in response to the queries by applicants and as per the revised schedule, RFQ documents are to be submitted before 9 September 2014. The government plans to award the contract by 10 November 2014.^[25]
• 17 Aug 2015 The two bidders remaining in the fray have been raising unrealistic queries which makes the seriousness of their bids suspect in the view of transport officials.^[26]

Project cost

The 111-km long, first phase of the Chennai Monorail project is proposed at a cost of ₹ 166.50 billion.^[27] The per-kilometre cost of the Chennai monorail will be around ₹ 1.50 billion. The revised 54-km-long, phase-I of the monorail is estimated to cost ₹ 80.50 billion.

Inter modal transit facilities

• Chennai suburban railway network: Tambaram, Velacherry, Arakkonam
• Chennai MTC bus terminuses: Satellite Mofussil bus terminus planned at Tambaram, Velachery.
• Southern Railway: Tambaram.
• TNSTC: Tambaram, Vadapalani and Kathipara Junction.

See also

• Chennai MRTS, a first generation metro system in Chennai.
• Chennai Metro, a metro system under construction.

References

Rapid rail transit in India
Metro	Operational Namma Metro Chennai Metro Delhi Metro Jaipur Metro Kolkata Metro Mumbai Metro Gurgaon Metro Under construction MEGA Hyderabad Metro Rail Kanpur Metro Kochi Metro Lucknow Metro Nagpur Metro Navi Mumbai Metro Noida Metro Rail Corporation Planned Agra Metro Bareilly Metro Bhopal Metro Chandigarh Metro Guwahati Metro Gwalior Metro Indore Metro Ludhiana Metro Jabalpur Metro National Capital Region Metro Patna Metro Pune Metro Vijayawada Metro Rail Visakhapatnam Metro Proposed Greater Nasik Metro Srinagar Metro Surat Metro Western railway elevated corridor
Monorail	Operational Mumbai Monorail Planned Chennai Monorail Coimbatore Monorail Kolkata Monorail Proposed Ahmedabad Monorail Aizawl Monorail Allahabad Monorail Bangalore Monorail Bhubaneswar Monorail Delhi Monorail Indore Monorail Kanpur Monorail Navi Mumbai Monorail Patna Monorail Pune Monorail Tiruchirappalli Monorail
Light rail	Planned Kolkata LRTS Proposed Delhi LRTS Kozhikode Light Metro Thiruvananthapuram Light Metro

Transport in Tamil Nadu
Transport by cities	Chennai Coimbatore Erode Madurai Thanjavur Thoothukudi Tiruchirapalli Tirunelveli Tiruvannamalai
Road	National Highways NH 4 NH 5 NH 7 NH 7A NH 45 NH 45A NH 45B NH 45C NH 46 NH 47 NH 47B NH 49 NH 66 NH 67 NH 68 NH 205 NH 207 NH 208 NH 209 NH 210 NH 219 NH 220 NH 226 NH 227 NH 234 State Highways SH 4 SH 6 SH 9 SH 10 SH 15 SH 22 SH 49 SH 58 SH 68 SH 81 SH 134 SH 156 Other Roads Chennai Elevated Expressways Coimbatore bypass East Coast Road Old Mahabalipuram Road Public Transport Chennai BRTS Chennai RBTW Coimbatore BRTS State Express Transport Corporation Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation Tiruchirappalli BRTS
Rail	Rail Networks Chennai Metro Chennai Monorail Chennai suburban railway Coimbatore Monorail Chennai MRTS Southern Railway Tiruchirappalli Monorail Rail Stations Chennai Central Chennai Egmore Coimbatore Junction Erode Junction Madurai Junction Salem Junction Tiruchirapalli Junction Thanjavur Junction Tirunelveli Junction
Air	International Airports Chennai Coimbatore Madurai Tiruchirappalli Domestic Airports Salem Thoothukudi Vellore Military Bases Arakkonam Coimbatore Madurai Tambaram Thanjavur Uchipuli
Water	Ports Chennai Ennore Kattupalli Nagapattinam Thoothukudi

Railways in Southern India
National network / trunk lines	Howrah–Chennai main line New Delhi–Chennai main line Mumbai–Chennai line
Other lines / sections	Chennai Central–Bangalore City line Chennai Egmore–Thanjavur main line Chord Line Coimbatore–Shoranur railway line Gudivada–Bhimavaram section Gudivada–Machilipatnam branch line Guntakal–Chennai Egmore section Guntur–Macherla section Guntur–Repalle section Jolarpettai–Shoranur line Kazipet–Vijayawada section Kollam–Sengottai branch line Kollam–Thiruvananthapuram trunk line Khurda Road–Visakhapatnam section Kothavalasa–Kirandul line Manamadurai–Virudhunagar line Mysore–Bangalore railway line Mysore–Chamarajanagar branch line Nagpur–Hyderabad line Nilambur–Nanjangud rail line (Proposed) Nilambur–Shoranur railway line Nilgiri Mountain Railway Palakkad–Pollachi line Pagidipalli–Nallapadu railway line Peralam–Karaikal line Sabari railway line (Proposed) Shimoga–Talaguppa railway Shoranur–Cochin Harbour section Shoranur–Mangalore section Solapur–Guntakal section Vijayawada–Chennai section Vijayawada–Guntur section Visakhapatnam–Vijayawada section Ernakulam–Kayamkulam coastal railway line Guntakal–Vasco da Gama section Pune–Miraj–Londa line Bangalore–Arsikere–Hubli line Pamban–Dhanushkodi branch line (Defunct)
Urban and suburban rail transport	Chennai Chennai Suburban Railway Chennai Mass Rapid Transit System Chennai Metro Hyderabad Multi-Modal Transport System Hyderabad Metro Rail Bangalore Bangalore Commuter Rail Namma Metro Kochi Kochi Metro
Monorails	Bangalore Chennai Coimbatore Kozhikode Tiruchirappalli Thiruvananthapuram
Defunct railways	Cochin State Forest Tramway Kundala Valley Railway
Railway divisions	Bangalore Chennai Bangalore Hubli Madurai Mysore Palakkad Salem Thiruvananthapuram Tiruchirappalli
Named trains	Ahilya Nagari Express Ajmer–Hyderabad Meenakshi Express Andaman Express Amritha Express Anantapuri Express Andhra Pradesh Express Bangalore City–Ernakulam Intercity Express Bangalore Rajdhani Express Bhagmati Express Brindavan Express Chalukya Express Chamundi Express Charminar Express Chemmozhi Express Chennai Rajdhani Express Chennai–Alleppey Express Chennai Central–Coimbatore Shatabdi Express Chennai Hazrat Nizamuddin Duronto Express Chennai–Jaipur Express Chennai–Madurai Duronto Express Chennai–Mysore Shatabdi Express Chennai Thiruvananthapuram AC Duronto Express Chennai Egmore–Mangalore Central Express Chennai Central–Vijayawada Jan Shatabdi Express Cheran Express Cholan Express Circar Express Cocanada AC Express Coimbatore–Chennai Express Coimbatore–Jaipur Express Coimbatore–Nagercoil Express Coimbatore–Tuticorin Link Express Coimbatore–Rameswaram Express Coromandel Express Ernad Express Ernakulam–H.Nizamudin Duronto Falaknuma Express Ganga Kaveri Express Godavari Express Gol Gumbaz Express Golconda Express Golden Chariot Goutami Express Grand Trunk Express Guruvayur Express Hampi Express Himsa Express Himsagar Express Hirakud Express Howrah–Chennai Mail Howrah–Kanyakumari Express Hussainsagar Express Hyderabad–Pune Express Indore–Yesvantpur Express Island Express Janmabhoomi Express Kanyakumari Express Kanyakumari–Mumbai Express Kaveri Express Kerala Express Krishna Express Kollam–Visakhapatnam Express Kongu Express Kovai Express Lal Bagh Express Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Ernakulam Duronto Express Malabar Express Mangala Lakshadweep Express Mangalore Yaswanthpur Express Manikarnika Express Mannai express Marusagar Express Matsyaganda Express Maveli Express Mayiladuthurai–Mysore Express Mumbai CST Chennai Express Mysore–Tuticorin Express Nagarjuna Express Nagercoil Passenger Nagavali Express Narayanadri Express Navjivan Express Navyug Express Nellai Express Netravati Express Nilgiri Express Pallavan Express Pandian Express Parasuram Express Pearl City Express Pinakini Express Poorna Express Pothigai Express Pune–Ernakulam Express Rajkot–Coimbatore Express Rani Chennamma Express Raptisagar Express Rockfort Express Sabari Express Samata Express Sanghamithra Express Satavahana Express Secunderabad Hazrat Nizamuddin Duronto Express Secunderabad Rajdhani Express Secunderabad Mumbai Duronto Express Sharavati Express Sethu Express Silambu Express Simhapuri Express Tamil Nadu Express Tea Garden Express Thirukural Express Tippu Express Tirumala Express Tiruchirappalli–Howrah Superfast Express Tiruchirappalli–Mayiladuthurai Express Tiruchirappalli–Tirunelveli Intercity Express Thiruvananthapuram Mail Thiruvananthapuram–Indore Express Thiruvananthapuram Rajdhani Express Udyan Express Uzhavan Express Vanchinad Express Venad Express Visakha Express Visakhapatnam–Secunderabad Duronto Express Visakhapatnam–Secunderabad Garib Rath Express West coast express Yesvantpur Puducherry Garib Rath Express Yelagiri express Yercaud Express
Manufacturing units / workshops / sheds	Integral Coach Factory Rail Wheel Factory Golden Rock Railway Workshop Diesel Loco Shed, Golden Rock Kollam MEMU Shed
Railway zones	South Central Railway Southern Railway South Western Railway
Railway companies	Konkan Railway Corporation Kerala Monorail Corporation East Coast State Railway Nizam's Guaranteed State Railway Hyderabad–Godavari Valley Railways Madras Railway Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway
Agitations and accidents	1928 South Indian railway strike 1932 Madras and Southern Mahratta railway strike 1974 railway strike in India 1988 Kollam Peruman train accident Nellore train fire
See also	Indian Railways Bholu (mascot) Transport in Guntur Madras Time Thiruvananthapuram–Mangalore high-speed passenger corridor Annual passenger earnings details of railway stations in Kerala
Railways in India portal