Public Transportation in Chennai

Single Decker: Leyland & TATA	1483
Semi low floor buses	1774
Vestibule buses	100
Mini A/C	4
Volvo A/C buses	100
TOTAL	3461

Depot units in Chennai

(taken over from TNSTD on1.1.72)

1. TONDIARPET 2. ADYAR 3. AYANAVARAM 4. VADAPALANI 5. AMBATHUR 6. MADHAVARAM 7. T.NAGAR 8. MANDAVELI

(formed after 1.1.72)

1. K.K.NAGAR 22-01-73 2. ANNANAGAR 11-03-73 3. SAIDAPET 08-03-74 4. THIRUVORTIYUR 15-12-75 5. TAMBARAM 11-07-77 6. VYASARPADI 18-07-79 7. THIRUVANMIYUR 30-08-81 8. PERAMBUR 03-02-82 9. TONDIARPET-II 03-07-83 10. POONAMALLEE 16-04-86 11. CHROMPET 29-05-87 12. AVADI 14-04-91 13. IYYAPPANAGAL 02-02-94 14. ENNORE 16-06-95 15. ALANDUR 16-07-95 16. BASIN BRIDGE 17-07-03 17. CENTRAL DEPOT 02-02-04

Fleet And Scheduled Services

(Latest)

S. No. DEPOT DEPT. CODE FLEET STRENGTH SCHD. SERVICES 1 ADYAR AD 201 185 2 THIRUVANMIYUR TR 140 130 3 MANDAVELI MN 81 75 4 CENTRAL CD 172 157 5 SAIDAPET SP 117 108 6 T.NAGAR TN 93 86 ADYAR REGION TOTAL 804 741 7 VADAPALANI VP 187 172 8 K K NAGR KN 181 167 9 IYYAPPANTHANGAL IY 152 140 10 TAMBARAM TA 212 194 11 CHROMPET CR 132 121 12 ALANDUR AL 128 118 CHROMEPET REGION TOTAL 992 912 13 POONAMALLEE PM 174 159 14 AMBATHUR AM 168 156 15 ANNANAGAR AN 207 192 16 AVADI AV 141 129 17 AYNAVARAM AY 163 150 18 PERAMBUR PB 154 142 AYNAVARAM REGION TOTAL 1007 928 19 MADHAVARAM MV 128 118 20 TONDAIARPET-1 TD 137 127 21 TONDAIARPET-2 TW 73 67 22 THIRUVORTIYUR TV 99 91 23 ENNORE EN 56 52 24 VYSARPADI VY 124 114 25 BASIN BRIDGE BB 43 39 TONDAIRPET REGION TOTAL 661 608 MTC TOTAL 3464 3189

Facilities Provided Bus Services Via CENTRAL STATION RAILWAY COMPLEX. Via EGMORE RAILWAY STATION. Via TAMBARAM RAILWAY STATION COMPLEX. 48 NIGHT SERVICES TO IMPORTANT PLACES 100 High capacity VESTIBULE buses. 100 AIR CONDITIONED VOLVO BUSES ON SELECTED ROUTES. SEMI-LOW FLOOR BUSES WITH AUTOMATIC DOOR CLOSURE. PARK AND RIDE FACILITY IN TERMINALS FOR TWO WHEELERS. CONSUMER FORUM MEETING. PASSENGER COMPLAINTS CELL.

Facilities Proposed

Feeder bus services to MRTS operation. Train-Bus link ticket. Prepaid Smart Card ticketing system. Vacation special card. Global Positioning System: Provided. Bus Fares Stage Fare [Value in Rupees] [Effective from 18-11-2011] Stage Fare Stage Fare Stage Fare Stage Fare Stage Fare Stage Fare 1. 3.00 6. 6.00 11. 8.00 16. 9.00 21. 11.00 26. 13.00 2. 4.00 7. 6.00 12. 8.00 17. 9.00 22. 11.00 27. 14.00 3. 5.00 8. 7.00 13. 9.00 18. 10.00 23. 12.00 28. 14.00 4. 5.00 9. 7.00 14. 9.00 19. 10.00 24. 12.00 5. 6.00 10. 8.00 15. 9.00 20. 10.00 25. 13.00 NOTE: A stage is approximately equal to 2 KMs.

EXPRESS 1.5 TIMES THE ORDINARY FARES DELUXE DOUBLE THE (ORDINARY FARE+0.50 PAISA) NIGHT SERVICE TWICE THE ORDINARY FARES VOLVO A/C 2.5 Times The Deluxe Fares(Min Rs.15

On 11th Sept 2012.The minimum bus fare was increased to Rs.7 from Rs.5 for deluxe buses





Click the link bellow for various Trains and time details
http://erail.in/ChennaiSubUrbanTrains.htm

[v]In March 2001, the gauge conversion project in the Madras—Madurai section was completed and BG passenger services began, and the Beach—Tambaram section featured two MG and two BG lines. In December 2001, electrification work of the Chengleput–Villupuram BG line commenced. Gauge conversion work of two MG lines between Beach and Egmore began in December 2002 and was completed by February 2002. This resulted in increased BG EMU services between Beach and Tambaram and the MG services from Tambaram terminating at Egmore. The spur MG lines in the Beach—Washermanpet section were dismantled.
In February 2003, one of the MG lines between Tambaram and Chengalpet was taken up for conversion and was completed in December 2003, which was used for BG EMU services and by mainline express trains. This resulted in 2 BG lines and 1 MG line in the Tambaram–Chengleput section by the end of 2003. The last MG EMU services between the 30 km Egmore—Tambaram section were run on 1 July 2004, marking the end of the regular service of the YAM-1 locomotives, and the gauge conversion work in this section began. All MG mainline trains were switched over to diesel traction.
On 1 November 2004, with the completion of the gauge-conversion work in this section, BG EMU services were inaugurated with the addition of 15 new rakes from ICF.[vi]

CMRL – Chennai Metro Rail Limited:
CMRL is a joint venture of the Tamil Nadu State and the Central government. The estimated project cost is around Rs. 14,000 Cr of which 41% is being funded by the centre and the state governments equally and the remaining is through a loan from Japanese International Cooperation Agency. The first phase of the project is divided into two corridors spanning 45kms of which 24 km is underground and 21km is elevated. The cost of constructing each kilometre of the underground tunnel is Rs.300 Cr compared to Rs. 100 Cr for the elevated track. Each corridor has 17 stations with Central and Alandur stations featuring in both the routes.[vii]



Corridor 1: Wahermanpet, Mannadi, High Court, Central, Secretariat (new), LIC, Thousand lights, Gemini, Teynampet, Chamiers Road, and Saidapet will be underground. While the Little mount, Guindy, Alandur, Officer training academy, Meenambakkam and Airport will be elevated.

Corridor 2: Central, Egmore, Nehru Park, Kilpauk Medical college, Pachaiyappa’s college, Shenoynagar, Annanagar East, Annanagar tower, Thirumangalam will be underground. While Koyembedu, CMBT, Arumbakkam, Vadapalani,Ashok Nagar, KK Nagar, SIDCO, Alandur and St. Thomas mount are elevated.

Line	Terminals	Length	New Stations	Cost
■ Purple Line	Mysore Road – Kengeri	6.465 km	5
■ Purple Line	Baiyyappanahalli – Whitefield	15.50 km	14
■ Green Line	Puttenahalli – Anjanapura	6.29 km	5
■ Green Line	Hesaraghatta cross – BIEC	3.77 km	3
■ Line 3	R V Road – Bommasandra	18.80 km	16	5,744 crore (US$1.05 billion)
■ Line 4	Gottigere - Nagavara	21.25 km	18	11,014 crore (US$2

This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons

Disadvantages:
The main objective of CMRL was to link all the important gateways of the city which are already well connected through bus and train services. Although the Metro is energy efficient, its capital, operation and maintenance costs are expected to be very high. Following are the concerns that remain unanswered:

1.Absence of public opinion:This landmark project involving huge amount of funds and considerable realignment of the city’s landscape,did not invite public opinion on the routes. The CMRL claims to have had meetings only with the affected parties, who were displaced during land acquisition for the project.

2. Integrating with the MRTS/ Suburban/ City buses: Both the corridors run almost parallel and in close proximity to the suburban trains running from Chennai Beach to Tambaram stations.
The metro will eat into the incomes earned by the buses and trains in the normal hours.

3. Redundant Expenses: The metro runs below at Anna Salaiand E.V.R. Salai while it runs on an elevated track on the Jawaharlal Nehru Road (Inner Ring Road) although all are equally wide. The underground construction costs three times more than the elevated track.

4. Ease of access: As the sidewalks on the arterial roads are narrow, the access to the metro will further reduce its width.


The metro was successful in Delhi because of its coverage where the bus services were unable to meet the demand. Moreover, the vehicular density in Delhi is amongst the highest which clogged the city roads hence the metro proved as the best alternative. In Chennai the buses and the suburban trains complement each other but their capacity is reaching the maximum. The advent of metro will decongest the roads and will certainly share the burden of the buses to provide a better travel experience in future. While the advent of metro is expected to shift motorists into using public transport and reduce congestion, its development should also reduce vulnerability of the poor and marginalised.[viii]

Mini-buses that would hit the city roads soon will also be operated on regular routes during non-peak hours. Earlier, the authorities had decided to operate them only on far-flung areas of the city and suburbs, as feeder services providing connectivity to bus stops and railway stations. With the new proposal, they would also be operated on regular routes to give a breather to MTC buses. Since MTC buses ply with fewer passengers, some almost empty, on a few routes during the lean hours (11 am to 4 pm), operating mini-buses these routes during non-peak hours would be an economically profitable option. The short wheelbase of mini-buses running to full capacity during lean hours would certainly be a viable option regarding fuel efficiency, compared to a larger, standard bus, which consumes more diesel running with fewer passengers.[ix]

Will the mini-buses help in easing traffic congestion in Chennai?
Commuters feel that the mini-buses will be a boon for those in the suburbs. Mini buses should connect nearby junctions from sub urban areas and also from the places where MTC bus services are very minimal or not even having services. In particular, Bridavan Nagar (Adambakkam) should have the connectivity to Kilkattalai, Vijayanagar bus terminus &Nanganallur via Kakkanbridge&Kakkan Nagar. From Vijayanagar bus terminus, the mini buses should be operated to connect KandanchavaviVia MGR Salai. As agreed by the Govt., mini buses should connect MRTS and sub urban railway stations wherever applicable. In areas such as Nanganallur where autorickshaws are ruling the roost, the mini-buses can stop the exploitation.

The Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) has taken the initiative to have a single Smart card that can be used as a ticket for both buses and trains.Prototypes of the new Smart cards, shaped like regular credit cards have been developed for the MTC. These smart cards will be prepaid cards and can be recharged. Commuters will use the card at the reader while boarding a bus/train. The fare will automatically be deducted from the card based on the distance travelled by the commuter.Smart cards are already in use for EMU train services. But they are not being used by the public as much as the government thought they would be used. Hence, MTC officialsare planning to measure the public readiness for the project.
This smart card system would reduce waiting in queues while switching over different modes of public transport. In future, such a cardwill help in creating a better cooperation and coordination among different transport agencies in the city.
Though the state had initially planned to operate monorails on four corridors in the first phase, the 53-km-long Puzhal-to-Tambaram stretch, which would have been the world’s longest, hasbeen postponed to the second phase.
The other three corridorswhere monorails would be operated in the first phase are Vandalur-Velachery (23 km), Poonamallee–Vadapalani (18 km) and Poonamallee-Kathipara junction (16 km).

Is monorail project suited for Chennai

Former Delhi Metro chief E Sreedharan has said Chennai’s proposed monorail project is "not really suited" for Chennai, and that the state government must soon implement Phases II and III of the Chennai metro. According to him, monorail is 'totally inadequate' for a city like Chennai with a population of more than six million. Monorail's capacity is only one third or one fourth of the normal metro and cost of operation is almost 50 per cent more. He has said that the Tamil Nadu government has not done any detailed study on the monorail project. The monorail can "at best" be only a feeder service to metro,while metro forms the backbone of the transport system.[xvii][xviii]

Auto-rickshaws in Chennai

• Autos are the least preferred mode of travel as specified by the customers.
• A majority of customers feel that they are over-charged by auto-drivers.

People demand rationalized autorikshaw fares in Chennai

Activists in the city have launched a signature campaign.Demanding immediate action from the state transport commission, the campaign has received more than 1,500 signatures. They plan to get 2,500 signatures.
The campaign demands the state transport department to regulate fares of autorickshaws and create a system for updating fare structures. It suggests the implementation of an alternative method like a rate card which will benefit commuters as well as auto drivers even during fluctuating fuel prices. The campaign demands the government to set up a helpline to report violations and ensure strict enforcement.
Chennai has been notorious for its autorickshaws whose drivers fleece passengers, charging more than Rs 25 per km. Even though there have been several rounds of hikes in the fuel prices, autorickshaw fares haven't been revised in the last five years. This allows drivers to cite the price increase and fleece more. Activists feel this has resulted in considerable inconvenience to commuters who depend on autorickshaws for their transport needs as well to autorickshaw drivers. "Most auto drivers never go by the meter and demand exorbitant fares. This unfair pricing affects commuters who end up being harassed," says the petition.
According to a recent study commissioned by the state government, 72% of Chennai's auto rides are short distance, about 5km. With such a large possible rider clientele, it should be right to expect the average daily trip distance to be far in excess of 100km.
The study observes this as a major reason why other cities like Bangalore and Delhi have lesser auto charges as the average distance travelled per day is around 150km. Since the distance is less, charges are more and this leads to a cyclic problem.

The call of the taxi

MRTS dents city’s safe reputation

Does Chennai require proper transport facility for women to travel in odd hours?