Railway Board approves MRTS merger with Chennai Metro: What changes for passengers

“…approval of Draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Southern Railway (GOI) and Government of Tamil Nadu for Handing over of Assets, Operation and Maintenance of MRTS (Suburban Services) to Government of Tamil Nadu, (May’ 2026), has been sought. The issue has been examined in Board and approval of Ministry of Railways is conveyed for the above said Draft MoU,” reads the letter.

How the Chennai MRTS-CMRL integration plan evolved over the years

The idea of integrating the MRTS with the Metro system also goes back to 2009. While approving the Chennai Metro project in February 2009, the Government of India had highlighted the long-term need to integrate the operation and management of the Chennai MRTS with the proposed Metro system.

Following this, the then Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu sent a proposal to the Chairman of the Railway Board on January 27, 2011, seeking the merger of the MRTS, part of the Chennai MTP, with CMRL. Several meetings were subsequently held at the Railway Board and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) to discuss the proposal.

As per the draft MoU, CUMTA (Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority), which aims to improve mobility in the Chennai Metropolitan Area by integrating and coordinating various modes of transport, including MTC, CMRL and the railway system, approached Southern Railway seeking the transfer of MRTS to the Tamil Nadu government.

“In this connection, a meeting was held between Chief Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu and General Manager, Southern Railway on 23.11.2023. It was decided in the meeting to form a Special Committee consisting of Officers from Government of Tamil Nadu and Railways to finalize the broad framework and principles for the preparation of detailed MoU for handing over of MRTS System by SR to GoTN,” reads the statement.

According to the draft MoU, a Special/Empowered Committee was formed with senior officials from the Tamil Nadu government and Southern Railway. The committee included the Principal Secretary, Finance Department; Managing Director, Chennai Metro Rail; and Commissioner, Land Administration from the state government, along with the Chief Planning & Development Engineer, Chief Transportation Planning Manager, and Financial Advisor & Chief Accounts Officer/General from Southern Railway. The committee was coordinated and convened by the Member Secretary, CUMTA.

“The Special / Empowered Committee submitted its report on 31.01.2024. Based on this, the proposal for In-Principle approval for the proposed broad framework and principles for the preparation of detailed MoU for handing over of MRTS System by SR to GoTN was sent by General Manager, SR to Railway Board vide letter dated 14.02.2024.

Railway Board after obtaining clarifications and discussion with SR Officials has accorded In-Principle approval for handing over of assets, operation and maintenance of MRTS (Suburban services) to GoTN including the proposed “Broad Framework and Principles” for the preparation of detailed MoU vide letter No.2024/Proj./MRTS-CHENNAI/CMRL/MERGER/30/74 dated 31.07.2025,” reads the statement.

About Chennai Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS)

The Chennai MRTS currently carries around 1 lakh passengers every day, with most of the demand coming during peak hours from office-goers and students.

The MRTS corridor is around 25 km long and has 21 stations, covering the route up to St Thomas Mount. The stations are:

Chennai Beach, Chennai Fort, Park Town, Chintadripet, Chepauk, Tiruvallikeni, Light House, Mundakanni Amman Koil, Tirumayilai, Mandaveli, Greenways Road, Kotturpuram, Kasturba Nagar, Indira Nagar, Tiruvanmiyur, Taramani, Perungudi, Velachery, Puzhuthivakkam, Adambakkam and St Thomas Mount.

Benefits of Chennai MRTS merger with Chennai Metro Rail

The MRTS already has multimodal connections with the Chennai Metro at six stations – Chennai Fort, Park Town, Mylapore, Thiruvanmiyur, Adambakkam and St Thomas Mount.

The merger with Chennai Metro is expected to make train operations more seamless and improve connectivity between different modes of public transport in the city. In a statement Southern Railway said: “The merger will provide seamless multimodal Integration across Metro, MRTS, Suburban Rail networks and Bus Services in Chennai.”

According to the MoU, integrating the MRTS with other urban transport systems has become increasingly important due to the growing demand for public transport in the Chennai Metropolitan Area.

With the city expanding and travel patterns changing, better coordination between different transport systems can help provide smoother connectivity, make passenger movement easier and improve the use of existing transport infrastructure.

The handover is expected to be completed within 90 days of signing the agreement. Southern Railway will continue to handle the operation and maintenance of MRTS services during a 24-month transition period.

“During the transition period, SR will take up core train operation & maintenance of the MRTS system free of cost and GoTN will prepare itself to take over the operations of the MRTS system,” reads the statement.

As per the draft MoU, within 90 days of signing the agreement, the Tamil Nadu government will deploy staff for ticketing and general operation and maintenance of the MRTS, including ticketing, housekeeping and security personnel. The ticketing will be handled by the state government through the M-UTS system. During the transition period, the fare and non-fare revenue collected by the state government will be remitted to Southern Railway. However, ticket checking will continue to be handled by the Railways.

The MoU said the integration is aimed at improving multimodal connectivity, commuter convenience and coordination between different suburban transport systems.