A TOURIST GUIDE TO CHENNAI - MRTS(Mass Rapid Transit System)

MRTS stands for Mass Rapid Transit System is reffered to a particular system of suburban rail network in Chennai from Cheenai Beach Jn to Velachery with tracks running on an elevated platform.

In the 1980s, the Government began planning for a new railway network inside the Chennai city by laying new railway lines as the Suburban Lines offered no connectivity to Central and South Madras ( South Chennai now). The planning for MRTS began in the year 1985 and construction was started in 1991, six years after commencement of the Plan. The first phase was bifurcated into two construction phase-(Chennai Beach Jn to Chepauk, Chepauk to Tirumayilai) and finally opened in the year 1997. In this section of the line , the first three Stations —Chennai Beach Jn, Fort and Park Town, is at ground level and after Park Town, it begins to ply on an elevated surface. All the Stations after Park Town — Chintadripet, Chepauk, Tiruvallikeni, Lighthouse and Thirumaylai are situated on an elevated position

The second phase of the MRTS was planned to connect Thirumaylai to Velachery, a southern suburb of the Chennai city. The stations that are located in between- Mandaiveli, Greenways Road, Kotturpuram, Kasturibai Nagar, Indra Nagar, Tiruvanmiyur, Tharamani, perungudi.Till Perungudi, all the staions are elevated . One of the main stations in this strtech is the Thiruvanmiyur Station which is located just opposite to the Tidel Park, caters to the need of employees working in the IT firms situated in that Corridor. The elevated track between Thiruvanmiyur and Velachery was opened to public on November 19, 2007.

The MRTS runs from Chennai Beach Jn to Velachery and travelling time is 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 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.