India's first elevated railway line took over three decades to reach its final destination

Countries & Cities · Published 15 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The Chennai Mass Rapid Transit System was a visionary project designed to bypass city congestion by running along the Buckingham Canal. Despite opening its first section in 1995, the final link to St. Thomas Mount faced years of legal battles and construction delays, only reaching completion in March 2026.

Conceived in the 1960s to manage urban growth, the Chennai MRTS was intended to be a 59.38 km loop line. The project was officially sanctioned in 1983–84, with construction beginning in 1991. The first phase, connecting Chennai Beach to Chepauk, launched in 1995 as India's first elevated railway. While the system was designed to integrate with the existing broad gauge suburban network, its path along the Buckingham Canal created unintended consequences, as the support pillars reduced the canal's width and obstructed natural rainwater drainage.

The extension to St. Thomas Mount became a protracted saga of land acquisition and judicial intervention. After the initial alignment was altered, the project required the demolition of over 70 residential units, triggering local protests and a series of court cases. In 2014, the High Court mandated compensation under the Land Acquisition Act 2013, and subsequent disputes over payment amounts reached the Supreme Court. Even after construction of the final stations was largely finished by 2019, the line remained incomplete until trial runs finally commenced in March 2026.

Today, the system serves about 100,000 passengers daily, yet it struggles with significant financial deficits. In 2023, annual operating expenses reached approximately ₹1.05 billion, while revenues remained at ₹200 million, largely due to heavily subsidized fares. To address these challenges, there are ongoing efforts to transfer the MRTS to the Chennai Metro Rail Limited. This transition aims to modernize the infrastructure, upgrade stations, and implement a unified ticketing system, potentially transforming the line from a suburban-style rail service into a fully integrated rapid transit network.

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