CHENNAI: Acclaiming the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s vision behind adopting the Mono Rail Project in Chennai, Kanesan Vellupillai, President of Scomi International Private Limited, Malaysia, said that her policy to increase the public transportation from 27 per cent to 42 per cent by 2026 by implementing the Mono Rail project would help reduce the traffic congestion in Chennai to a great extent.It is a good system to improve the overall Urban Transportation, especially in a scenario where urban travel is increasing at rapid speed with the increase in population.Scomi International Private Limited based in Malaysian has been implementing the Mono Rail project in Mumbai. Speaking to City Express over phone on the advantages of adopting the Mono Rail system in Chennai, Kanesan Vellupillai said that it was the best system to navigate over congested traffic places in any metro city with minimal land acquisition and displacement of people. Arguing his case, Kanesan gave the example of the congested route between Guindy and any other point on Anna Salai inside the city. After people from the suburbs get down at Guindy to go to any point on Anna Salai, a single mono train with four cars can carry 560 passengers with each car having 140- passenger capacity. The cars have been designed to accommodate seven passengers per square metre, Kanesan added.Outlining its benefits, he said that a single mono train can displace at least 17 to 18 MTC buses from a single route. Moreover, for every three minutes, a mono train can be run on a single direction. This means that 20 units can be operated on a single route in an hour and vice-versa, added Kanesan.The beams were constructed in such a way, one beam will carry the train moving in one direction, the other beam will carry the train moving in opposite direction, said S Selvaraja Chinnasamy, Head of the Business Development, India, Scomi.Selvaraja also said that the mono rail can attach up to six cars, which means that in one hour duration, the rail can transport 16,800 passengers in six cars.When asked about the land acquisition and displacement, he said that there was no need to look for the separate land for building the mono rail system. The beams which have a maximum breadth of one metre can even rise from the centre median of a road, said Selvaraja adding that it would also not affect the traffic flow on the roads. “We occupy only space in the air even for the construction of stations.So, no question of displacement arises in this project,” he said adding that in Mumbai, the Government has acquired only five per cent of land for the project that was encroached upon by the people.When asked about the feasibility of the AIADMK Government’s proposal to complete 111 kilometres of the proposed 300 kilometres in the next two years at a cost of `150 crore per kilometre, Kanesan said that the estimated cost was an ideal price as per Indian market rates.However, he said that it would take at least three years to complete the project. “Whether it is laying monorail for 20km like we do in Mumbai or 300km proposed in Chennai, the time consumed is same for both the projects.It all depends upon the planning for the implementation of the project.The Government can initiate work at five places simultaneously after having a proper consultation with the traffic police,” said Kanesan.When asked whether Mono Rail was better than Metro Rail for Chennai, Selvaraja said that in metro cities, both the systems were necessary. Metro and sub-urban trains should be designed to bring the population from sub-urban areas into the core area of the city. The monorail could be used to transport the people within the city’s congested areas.On the other hand, buses and autos should act as feeder to transport passengers from both the Mono and Metro Rail stations to their destinations, he said adding that in Chennai, which has population not more than 10 million, the Mono Rail could play a decisive role in reducing traffic congestion. The three systems — Mono Rail, Metro Rail and suburban services — would have to be integrated in such a way that the Mono Rail stations would be in proximity to sub-urban train junctions.This helps the passengers coming from suburban areas to use the Mono Rail service to reach their destination.“We are also calling it environmental friendly because it is operated on electricity,” added Kanesan and Selvaraja.
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