A six-year-long wait gave rise to many questions from commuters, which The Hindu attempted to address in a live chat with its readers on the inauguration of the Chennai Metro Rail.
Shreya Gadepalli, regional director, Institute for Transport and Development Policy (ITDP), participated in the chat, along with reporters of The Hindu who cover the beat.
With over 10,000 readers logging in, questions ranged from the fares, which were perceived as high, to the connection of feeder services to the Metro. “While the fare is high (compared to bus systems), this is to be expected. Metro is a high cost system. In Chennai, the average cost per km is about Rs. 450 Crore,” said Ms. Gadepalli.
#ChennaiMetro on social media
On Twitter and Facebook, readers gave their thumbs-up to the project for promoting public transport. “Time to ease up some of the famous Chennai traffic,” said a reader on Twitter. Others congratulated Chennai for getting onto the “Metro Map of India” which now includes Kolkata, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Jaipur.
Particularly celebrated was the story of 28-year-old A. Preethi, who steered the Metro’s maiden trip. “On second thought, women should be at the wheel in trains and buses too,” said a reader.
A transcript of the live chat can be read at: >http://thne.ws/MetroLive
