The draft feasibility report that recommends a suitable mass rapid transit system (MRTS) for Madurai city is ready, and has been submitted to Chennai Metro Rail. The final detailed feasibility report will soon be submitted to the Tamil Nadu government.
According to officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), they had awarded the contract for preparing this report to Balaji Rail Road Systems (BARSYL) early this year, and the consultant had recently completed the draft report. “We are examining the report. After making all the changes, the consultant will incorporate them in the final report. Subsequently, we will hold discussions with the stakeholders and submit it to the State government,” an official said.
This report will contain a host of information like the alignment, the areas that the system will cover, the cost of the project and the type of transport system suitable for the city. After the DFR, a detailed project report (DPR) will have to be prepared and it will have details, including the design, the type of stations, the cost break-down, the time needed to build this project and the projected passenger traffic.
Some time back, the Centre suggested MetroLite or MetroNeo for tier II and tier III cities. These two systems will be smaller and will also cost lesser than the conventional metro rail system.
One of the alignments explored is between Othakadai and Tirumangalam. Apart from this, other routes are being considered.
Apart from Madurai, a feasibility study will be conducted for Salem, Tiruchi and Tirunelveli, among other cities.
