Coimbatore civic body mulls mass rapid transit project

The Coimbatore city Corporation has been planning to introduce mass transit systems in the city for the last few years in order to address traffic problems in the city. The population of the city has been consistently growing at 10 percent and the present level of transport infrastructure is not enough to cater to commuters, reports indicate. Leading political parties are debating on whether to implement metro rail project or mono rail system in the city. While the DMK-Congress regime in corporation mooted metro rail, the current AIADMK-led council prefers mono rail. According to the technical advice given to the chief minister, metro rail is not a feasible option for Coimbatore. Compared to the metro rail, the mono rail is cheaper and land requirement is far less, some councilors of the civic body feel. The state government had promised a monorail network in the city soon after it won office last year. The Union urban development ministry has also included Coimbatore as one of the tier-two cities eligible for mass public transport systems like a metro. Alternative mode of transport like monorail is expected to help reduce the vehicular congestion and bring down pollution, says RR Balasundharam, president, Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore.