Chennai Monorail


Chennai Monorail is a rail-based transit system for the Indian city of Chennai. It is proposed in the Long-term Urban Transportation Scheme of Second Master Plan by Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority. The state government has announced plans to introduce monorail across the city to reduce traffic congestion and to increase the share of public transport in the urban transport network. The aim is to increase the share of public transport in Chennai from 27% to 46% by 2026.
The project has been moving in fits and starts right from the time it was proposed in 2006. Since the first tender in 2011, conditions have been watered down several times and tenders have lapsed thrice failing to attract bidders. As of January 2015, only two bidders remain after the Request For Qualification process of the ongoing bidding attempt.
The tender process to choose the contractor has been stuck in second gear for more than three years now as the project is as expensive as metro rail but does not have the same passenger capacity as the metro. While metro rail has the capacity to carry 45,000 passengers per direction, monorail can manage just about 10,000.

History

The Tamil Nadu Government invited bids for the ambitious 'Elevated Monorail Mass Rapid Transit System' monorail project covering over 300 km to be implemented at a single phase. Soon after a public interest litigation was filed in High Court, Chennai against awarding of the contract and the court ordered the government not to award the final contract without its prior permission. Since chances of the metro rail getting approval by central government which consisted of archrival DMK, were remote, the less expensive mono rail was preferred. A total of 18 corridors had been proposed. Had the project been executed, it would have been the biggest monorail project in the planet dwarfing any other monorail in the world. However, soon she was voted out of power and the monorail project was shelved. Again, when the new AIADMK government came to power in 2011, the Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, through the Governor Surjit Singh Barnala's address to the assembly, stated that the Chennai Monorail project of around 300 km will be revived and would supplement the existing metro rail systems that were implemented with assistance from Japanese loans and central government funding.

Proposed corridors in 2006

The following 18 corridors were proposed to be completely built within 18 months.
OriginDestinationLength Common Length
ParrysGuduvanchery42
ParrysPoonamalle22.42
ParrysPorur17.28
ParrysAvadi25.22
ParrysRed Hills19
ParrysParrys42.37
ParrysManali New Town23.34
ParrysKelambakkam39.2
HaldaMedavakkam12.3
Anna StatueAdyar O.T.8.52
VirugambakkamSanthome120.2
EgmoreMFL Junction19.20.5
SaidapetAnna Nagar Roundtana10.50.5
Salaima NagarKannadasan Nagar2.7
AyanavaramAnna Square10.21.5
AminjikaraiAmbattur Estate6.43
Gandhi StatueNathamuni13.22
F.S. EstateNungambakkam110.2

Total Route Length – 333.1 km

Common Length – 32.9 km

Track Length – 300.2 km

Corridors proposed in second master plan

Two corridors have been proposed in the Second Master Plan by CMDA. These corridors have been proposed as a feeder service for Chennai MRTS, Chennai Metro, Chennai Suburban Railway and Metropolitan Transport Corporation.
Corridor 1: Dams Road Junction - Royapettah - Thiruvanmayur - Adyar - Guindy

Corridor 2: Lighthouse MRTS Station - Anna flyover - Kilpauk - Perambur

Planned corridors (Phase I)

The Four corridors have been identified based on a feasibility study prepared by the Pallavan Transport Consultancy Services Ltd. A crisscrossing network of monorail corridors, running to a total length of 111 km with four corridors, is being planned by the State government and plans to complete the first phase of the monorail project within two years. The network includes a 54-km link between Vandalur and Puzhal, which when completed would be the longest anywhere in the world. The developer will be responsible to design, construct, finance, own, maintain and transfer the project after a period of 30 years. Monorail stations would be aesthetically designed, with minimal use of concrete. Initially, a four-car monorail train is expected to run along an elevated narrow guide way that would come up on the road median. The capacity of one train would be about 560 passengers, which translates to a capacity of about 10,000 passengers per hour per direction.
OriginDestinationLength Via
Vandalur
Via Mudichur		Puzhal54Perungalathur, Tambaram, MEPZ, Pallavaram, Pammal, Kundrathur, Mangadu, Kumananchavadi, Karayanchavadi, Paruthipattu, Goverthanagiri, Avadi, Thirumullaivoyal, Ambattur O.T, Pudur, Surapet, Puzhal
VandalurVelachery23Perungalathur, Irumbuliyur, Tambaram East, Selaiyur camp road, Sembakkam, Gowriwakkam, Medavakkam, Pallikaranai, Narayanapuram, Velachery.
PoonamalleeKathipara16Poonamallee, Kumananchavadi, Karayanchavadi, Kattupakkam, Iyyappanthangal, SRMC Hospital, Porur, Ramapuram, Nandambakkam, Butt Road, Kathipara Junction
PoonamalleeVadapalani18Poonamallee, Karayanchavadi, Kumananchavadi, Velappanchavadi, Vanagaram, Maduravoyal, Alapakkam, Porur, Valasaravakkam, Virugambakkam, Vadapalani Junction

Revised corridors (Phase I)

The State government has decided to drop one of the four monorail lines that were supposed to be built in the city. While originally an ambitious 111-km long Phase-I network was proposed to be constructed the revised target means the monorail grid would be only 57-km. The corridor from Vandalur to Puzhal via Avadi has been axed because it runs through "undeveloped areas with no pre-existing traffic in the alignment", making it "financially unviable". If it had been built, it would have been the longest monorail corridor in the world.
The revised 57-km long Phase-I of Chennai Monorail is estimated to cost 80,500 million. It is proposed to constitute a network of three elevated corridors –Vandalur to Velachery via Tambaram East ; Poonamallee to Kathipara via Porur ; and Poonamallee to Vadapalani via Valasarawakkam. The fourth line may be considered in the subsequent phases of the project. He said several monorail manufacturers had expressed the non-viability of building a 54-km monorail line using existing technologies even during the previous tendering process. In the second phase, Asia's longest monorail corridor from Vandalur to Puzhal would be taken up.
OriginDestinationLength StationsVia
VandalurVelachery2314Perungalathur, Irumbuliyur, Tambaram East, Selaiyur camp road, Sembakkam, Gowriwakkam, Medavakkam, Pallikaranai, Narayanapuram, Velachery.
PoonamalleeKathipara1611Poonamallee, Karayanchavadi, Kumananchavadi, Kattupakkam, Iyyappanthangal, SRMC Hospital, Porur, Ramapuram, Nandambakkam, Butt Road, Kathipara Junction
PoonamalleeVadapalani1812Poonamallee, Karayanchavadi, Kumananchavadi, Velappanchavadi, Vanagaram, Maduravoyal, Alapakkam, Porur, Valasaravakkam, Virugambakkam, Vadapalani Junction

The much-anticipated monorail is expected to have nearly three dozen stations in Chennai and its suburbs. The stations will come up at places that are good crowd generation points. The locations under consideration will have sufficient space for accommodating a station. The accessibility to these stations is also taken into consideration. An expert team was formed to scout for monorail stations sites. The team, comprising personnel from MTC, PTCS and a private consultancy firm, were given a time period of ten days to study and come up with sites where monorail stations can come up. Poonamallee and Vadapalani stations are expected to get monorail depots, where the monorails could be berthed and maintained. The Kathipara station will boast of the multi-modal transport system with the monorail integrating with MRTS, Metro Rail, and EMU service.

Revised corridors (2014)

The government's realigned monorail route will connect Poonamallee in the northwest of Chennai and Vandalur in the far south through two corridors that will meet near the Kathipara intersection.
corridor-1
Work on the first corridor is expected to begin in August-2014, with the government having issued tenders for the project. When completed, the 21 km first corridor will link Poonamallee and Kathipara, via Kumaranchavadi, Porur and Nandambakkam, with a wishbone line forking off to Vadapalani
corridor-2
The government is expected to soon announce the alignment for the second corridor between Vandalur and Kathipara, via Perungalathur, Irumbuliyur, Tambaram East, Sembakkam, Medavakkam and Velacherry.
Revised plan cost and funding model
In 2011, the State Government issued a request for qualification for 111-km phase I network cost ₹166.50 billion or ₹1.50 billion for each km.
However, in the revised plan, the Government will start with the 20.68 km monorail at ₹1564.3 million per km.
The revised route plan comes at a slightly higher cost per km than earlier planned, but, will be offered to private companies under the Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer basis. This means there will not be any financial commitment for the State Government.
As per the new plan, Corridor-1 - 20.68-km from Poonamallee to Kathipara with a link from Porur to Vadaplani - is expected to cost ₹32.35 billion.
The Vandalur-Velachery corridor is expected to cost at least ₹40 billion for which the State government has decided to seek assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency. JICA has clarified that as long as the proposal is to undertake the work under the PPP model, it is not eligible for funding. JICA funding would be made available only under wholly public funded model.
OriginDestinationLength StationsVia
PoonamalleeKathipara2111Poonamallee, Karayanchavadi, Kumananchavadi, Kattupakkam, Iyyappanthangal, SRMC Hospital, Porur, Ramapuram, Nandambakkam, Butt Road, Kathipara Junction
PorurVadapalani214Porur, Valasaravakkam, Virugambakkam, Vadapalani Junction
VandalurKathipara23+15Vandalur, Perungalathur, Irumbuliyur, Tambaram East, Selaiyur, Sembakkam, Gowriwakkam, Medavakkam, Pallikaranai, Narayanapuram, Velachery, Phoenix Market City, Maduvinkarai, Kathipara Junction.

Stations (to be updated pending announcement for updated corridor-2 alignment)

A total of 37 stations on paper, in reality it will be 34 as the monorails running between Poonamallee and Kathipara and Poonamallee to Vadapalani stretches will be halting at two common stations. The first Corridor – Vandalur to Velachery — will have 14 stations, 12 stations will come up along the Poonamallee - Vadapalani Corridor and 11 along the third corridor – Poonamallee to Kathipara junction.

Tender process

The 111-km long, first phase of the Chennai Monorail project is proposed at a cost of 166.50 billion. The per-kilometre cost of the Chennai monorail will be around 1.50 billion. The revised 54-km-long, phase-I of the monorail is estimated to cost 80.50 billion.

Inter modal transit facilities