The Tamil Nadu government will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Railways in December for Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) to take over the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS). The transfer is expected to be completed by December 2027.

At a high-level meeting on Monday, the state government gave in-principle approval for assigning the operation, management, and maintenance of the MRTS to CMRL. The Comprehensive Mobility Plan for Chennai was also approved and is scheduled for rollout this week. The MoU will be signed after concurrence from the Railways, expected in December.

“The minutes of the meeting on the Comprehensive Mobility Plan have been drafted and sent to the government. The next discussions with the Railways will take place later this week or early next week,” a source said.

After years of consideration, the Railways granted approval for the takeover in July 2025. Since then, Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) has been coordinating with the Tamil Nadu government, CMRL, and the Railways to accelerate the project. CUMTA and CMRL are finalising the detailed project report.

Commuters have long demanded this project, noting that MRTS was designed for 650,000 passengers daily but currently carries only around 80,000, highlighting underutilisation and operational inefficiencies.