The proposal for Chennai Metro Rail to take over the Mass Rapid Transit System has been sent to the Railway Board for its in-principle approval.

Although the plan was suggested more than a decade ago, it has only now reached the final stage.

An official from the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) mentioned that the proposal had been sent some time ago. The land management directorate had positively recommended it and forwarded it to the finance department, which raised a few queries to the Southern Railway regarding the cost breakdown. The official expected the Southern Railway authorities to respond to these queries within 2-3 weeks. Following this, they would wait for the in-principle approval of the Board, which they anticipated would come by July.

According to the plan, the railway authorities would run the train services during the initial period while Chennai Metro Rail (CMRL) would focus on developing the stations and enhancing the station facilities.

Once the in-principle approval from the Board was received, a Memorandum of Understanding would be signed to initiate the process of taking over MRTS. Subsequently, CMRL would form a special purpose vehicle to manage and operate MRTS.

After the MoU was signed, tenders for the commercial development of stations would be floated, a process that could last more than a year. The only remaining detail to be finalized was whether the trains would be entirely air-conditioned or have a few air-conditioned coaches in each train. This discussion was still on-going between CUMTA and CMRL. After the coaches were ordered, it might take about one and a half years for them to arrive.