The Railway Board approves the merger of Chennai’s Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) with the Chennai Metro Rail and is set to enable a transfer of operations to the Chennai Metro Rail Ltd (CMRL). The move follows a proposal initiated by the Tamil Nadu government in 2011.
Under the approved arrangement, a transition period is included before full handover. One report says the transition runs for two years, during which train operations are handed over to CMRL, while the other describes a 24-month transition period. The Times of India also notes that an MoU sets a handover timeline of within 90 days after execution, with Southern Railway continuing to handle train operations and maintenance during the transition.
Outlets differ mainly in the emphasis of timing details—one highlights the long approval wait and the 2011 initiation, while the other focuses on the execution and transition mechanics—while both describe a phased operational transfer to CMRL after the Railway Board’s approval.
