The decks have been cleared for the further expansion of Chennai Metro Rail with the State government announcing that the viability of three new corridors is being explored. A detailed project report will soon be undertaken by the consultant, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, to determine the feasibility of the corridors between Moolakkadai-Thirumangalam; Moolakkadai-Thiruvanmiyur; and Luz-Poonamallee through Iyyappanthangal.
When this second phase of the Metro Rail is completed in another two decades, public transport choices within the city should increase and the suffocating congestion on key roads relieved. At least that is the plan.
However, some town planning experts and residents feel that Phase-II of the Chennai Metro Rail should focus on expanding the network towards the suburbs, which suffer from poor public transport infrastructure, instead of pampering the city. Metro rail must be integrated with the planned expansion of the city, is their argument. They point to the far-sighted vision in introducing the suburban electric train as early as 1935 and the gains the city has made since.
Delhi Metro Managing Director E. Sreedharan, who pioneered the introduction of Metro Rail systems in India, thinks otherwise. He advocates the rapid expansion of Metro corridors on roads within the city where public transport buses can no longer ply efficiently due to congestion.
“Reaching suburban areas is a lower priority. They could be linked to the Metro network through a combination of high-quality feeder bus services, bus rapid transit systems and light rail transit systems. The Metro has to be the backbone of the transport system,” Mr. Sreedharan says.
What appears to support his view is the fact that in Chennai, about 25,000 people are packed in every square kilometre and there is no sign of this high density reducing. With another one million more expected to inhabit the 176 sq. km area of the city by 2026 as per population projections, the congestion on the roads, which has already increased three-fold between 1992 and 2008, would only increase further.
Also, the average speed on the roads which has dropped from 30 kmph to 21 kmph between 1992 and 2008 would come down further unless public transport within the city is drastically improved.
N.S.Srinivasan, founder director, National Transportation Planning and Research Centre disagrees. “New corridors of mass transit will end up bringing in more concentration into the centre. Studies show that about 40 per cent of all the passenger trips in the city have origin or destination within the core areas. This trend should be reversed,” he says.
If one were to go by the Second Master Plan forecasts, it will be the area around the city which will grow rapidly. By 2026, the population within a 1,000 sq. km area around the city would nearly double from the 2008 levels. This means that about 20,000 to 30,000 passengers will be moving per hour in each of the city's main arterial corridors, particularly the south and the west.
K.P.Subramanian, former professor, Urban Engineering Department, Anna University, says “The transport plan has to be integrated with the city development plan. It is the suburbs and not the city which must be the focus. Metro Rail network should proactively shape the future course of the city.”
Residents have differing opinions. In places such as Moolakkadai, which Phase-II is likely to connect, motorists welcome the announcement of a new metro line. But suburban dwellers such as J.Ravi, a resident of Kilburn Nagar in Madhavaram, feel that many suburban localities that would soon become a part of the Chennai Corporation limit cannot wait for another 10 to 15 years. “It would be a bit too late. Localities on the city's fringe would have undergone drastic changes by then,” he adds.
A senior Delhi Metro Rail Corporation planner, working as the project consultant for Chennai Metro, said that Moolakkadai was chosen to be developed as an important junction in Phase-II primarily to evolve a network that would touch the city's peripherals. “A master plan that would tackle the issue of expansion is under the consideration of the State government. The peripheral points will be connected through a circular corridor in Phase-III. Also, it may justbe a little too early to extend the Metro to the suburbs,” he added.
What they say:
K. Rajaraman , Managing Director, Chennai Metro Rail Limited
A detailed project report would be prepared for the three new corridors in a year. Any expansion plan would completely depend on factors such as availability of land, good road, and availability of alternate side road in case of underground alignment. We are currently not focussing on semi-urban and suburban areas as there is a cry for mass transit within the city itself. Outer suburbs will have to wait.
J. Ravi, resident of Gilburn Nagar, Madhavaram
Most suburban localities currently do not have a rail option. To take a train, I have to go to either Perambur or Basin Bridge. Using a bus is extremely difficult, especially for those who travel long distances to work. Due to road congestion and unreliability of public transport buses, one cannot go anywhere on time. If we could travel at least one segment of the journey by train, commuting would be better.
K.P. Subramanian , former professor, Urban Engineering Department, Anna University
In the fast growing suburbs of Chennai, it is residential development first, and roads and rails next – an inversion of good planning practice. Duplicating transport corridors within the city may help but it would also make the city further crowded. The Chennai Metro Rail must integrate land development with transport plan.
