CMDA to develop 18 MRTS stations

According to I Jeyakumar, special officer of the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA)The merger of the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) and Chennai Metro Rail Ltd. (CMRL) will take place in two stages. The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) will handle commercial development of all 18 MRTS stations and the surrounding 500-metre radius in the first stage, while Indian Railways will handle operation and maintenance. According to Jeyakumar, the next stage will be CMRL's complete takeover of MRTS. This follows Southern Railway's in-principle approval to hand over MRTS to Chennai Metro on May 11 during a meeting presided over by Chief Secretary Irai Anbu.“We will develop the stations and areas around them, as well as office spaces and business centres,” said Jeyakumar. “Most of these stations are in remote locations. We wanted to improve the environment. An MoU was drafted and is with the housing and urban development department,” he added. “Once we get the in-principle clearance, CMDA and the State government will sign an MoU with Indian Railways,” he said, adding CUMTA is conducting a study on the real estate potential and facilities at all MRTS stations. “We will map everything and come out with a detailed project report,” he said. It is learnt that CMDA will go for an open tender for commercial development of all stations. This will take approximately 24 months. See also: Chennai MRTS and Metro Rail have been merged by Indian RailwaysNew rail station and skywalk scheduled for Chennai's southern region