Speaking at a session of the Confederation of Indian Industry-Tamil Nadu’s (CII-T.N.) Infrastructure Summit 2023, Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) Managing Director M.A. Siddique said there was a requirement for more Metro Rail lines to the network, as the Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) for the Chennai Metropolitan Area released in 2019 has projected an addition of 451 km of lines.
“We currently have 54 km of Metro lines. In Phase II, 116 km of lines are being added at a cost of ₹63,246 crore. Even after this, we will have to add 281 km. An investment of ₹1 lakh crore will be required,” he said speaking at the session. This year’s theme for the summit is ‘Building Future Ready Infrastructure for a Trillion-dollar Economy by 2030’.
With both the Centre and State governments focusing on Metro Rail development, this may happen in the next 10 years, Mr. Siddique said. Chennai should not be compared with other Indian cities. It should be compared with the likes of Singapore, Seoul, and Hong Kong, which have 30-50 km of Metro lines per 1 million population, he added. After the completion of the 116-km Phase II project, we will have 14 km of lines per 1 million population. And completing the remaining 281 km will take us to 35 km of lines per 1 million population, Mr. Siddique said. He also said an updated CMP is being worked out and the numbers would change further.
