Chennai MTC Bus and other Road Transport

[Kewl Batty]

Chennai Beach - Tambaram - Chengalpet - Kachipuram - Thirumalpur
Distance - 107.3 Km
4 - lines upto tambaram [2 dedicated lines and other two lines for fast trains between tambaram and chennai beach]
Expansion to make all four tracks dedicated for suburbans.
2 - lines from tambaram to chengalpet
Expansion to 4 lines with two lines dedicated for suburban trains.
Developing Tambaram as a terminal for South bound Express trains.
1- line for suburban trains from chengalpet to Thirumalpur [This section has no express train or passenger trains... exclusively developed for suburban]
Expansion to 2 dedicated lines for suburbans.
Serves South Chennai
The Oldest Line in Chennai Suburban. Chennai Beach - Tambaram (around 28 km) was started in 1931.

Further extension of this track from Thirumalpur to Arakonam via Thakolam is underway. Electrification is done till thakolam i believe and from thankolam to arakonam is underway.
When completed will cover a distance of around 130 - 135 Km from chennai Beach to Thiruttani connecting the western line of the suburban link!



Chennai MMC - Avadi - Thiruvallur - Arakkonam - Thiruttani
Distance - 90 Km (approx)
Serves western Chennai.
Chennai MMC [Moore Market Complex] is juzz adjacent to Chennai Central.
Quadrupling of tracks between Chennai MMC to thiruvallur and arokkanam underway for two dedicated lines for suburban trains...
Tripling of track between arakkonam and thiruttani underway and will be quadrupled subsequently.

Some trains start from Arakonam and reach all the way upto Tambaram in southern line via basin bridge, chennai beach and chennai egmore.

Chennai MMC -Thiruvottiyur - Ennore - Ponneri - Gummidipoondi - Sullurpet
Distance - 88 km (approx)
Serves northern chennai and goes upto Sullurpet in Andhra Pradesh.
Expansion is underway in this section like quadrupling and doubling of tracks.

Totallin around 285 km

[Rasnaboy]

Originally Posted by Into_salem

A tender floated for the project failed to elicit good response

“The office building, rest room and toilets for crew are also in need of improvements”

YET TO TAKE OFF: The Ambattur Estate bus stand whose improvement work is yet to start.

CHENNAI: The proposed improvement works at one of the important bus terminuses in the western suburbs of Chennai at Ambattur Industrial Estate has hit a roadblock.

A tender floated for the project by the Metropolitan Transport Corporation a few weeks ago failed to elicit the desired response from the bidders.
Funds surrendered

With the project unlikely to take off in the next few months, Rs.40 lakh sanctioned towards it from the local area development fund by North Chennai Member of Parliament C. Kuppusamy had to be surrendered by the MTC.

The commuters, however, want the MTC to expedite the project. “Water stagnation is a perennial problem at the terminus, where no major improvement work has been implemented for several years except patch work on the flooring in the bus bays,” said R. Murugesan, a commuter from Chromepet. The terminus is served by several services of the MTC providing connectivity to different parts of Chennai.

.....

Talking to The Hindu, Mr.Kuppusamy said that Rs.40 lakh each was allotted towards improvement of the Mogappair and Ambattur Industrial Estate bus terminuses. The MTC proposed to provide platforms and flooring in Ambattur, shelters for passengers, rest rooms for the crew and offices for the timekeepers besides public convenience in the other termini.

.......

The funds were then diverted to construct a rest house for the staff of State Express Transport Corporation at the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus in Koyambedu,” he said.

Mr. Kuppuswamy added that he would soon meet the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority officials to get permission for construction of a guest house, which is a long-pending demand by crew of the SETC.

When contacted, an MTC official said the Corporation would take up the improvement work at the Ambattur facility as soon as its financial position improved.

http://www.hindu.com/2008/11/20/stor...2060110400.htm

Yeah! It's one of the ugliest bus termini in the city. Several important buses start/terminate here. We even have a Volvo service (D70 connecting Velachery) from Ambattur Estate terminus, if I'm not wrong.

[Indian Sun]

i wish we have more volvos....Mumbai and Bangalore are introducing luxury buses of all kinds...

[Arul Murugan]

Originally Posted by Kewl Batty

Chennai Beach - Tambaram - Chengalpet - Kachipuram - Thirumalpur
Distance - 107.3 Km
4 - lines upto tambaram [2 dedicated lines and other two lines for fast trains between tambaram and chennai beach]
Expansion to make all four tracks dedicated for suburbans.
2 - lines from tambaram to chengalpet
Expansion to 4 lines with two lines dedicated for suburban trains.
Developing Tambaram as a terminal for South bound Express trains.
1- line for suburban trains from chengalpet to Thirumalpur [This section has no express train or passenger trains... exclusively developed for suburban]
Expansion to 2 dedicated lines for suburbans.
Serves South Chennai
The Oldest Line in Chennai Suburban. Chennai Beach - Tambaram (around 28 km) was started in 1931.

Kewl,

Even in future all the 4 lines will not be made dedicated for the suburban in MSB Chennai Beach(from Beach to Egmore we have 3 lines only) - TBM Tambaram line.

Once the gauge conversion and few doubling projects gets completed in TN, there will be more day trains/night trains running from Chennai Egmore to parts of Tamilnadu. So Southern railway can never even think of making the other two tracks between Egmore and Tambaram as suburban exclusive.

Chennai Metro Washermanpet-Airport will surely help the growing demand of MSB-TBM suburban.

[Kewl Batty]

Originally Posted by Indian Sun

i wish we have more volvos....Mumbai and Bangalore are introducing luxury buses of all kinds...

Mumbai's Luxury bus is not tat comparable to chennai's and Bluru's volvo..
Today I spotted a new volvo route M70 [CMBT - Thiruvanmiyur via Velachery]
Velachery has been touched by 4 volvo routes and is getting very good response! [D70, M70, 370, 570]
Guess will take another year for them to introduce more volvos. They should increase the frequency of volvos as well as deluxe services... Many bus routes in the city are still congested... They should urgently increase the fleet to atleast 6000 by end of 2009 with atleast 100 volvos.

[Kewl Batty]

Originally Posted by Arul Murugan

Kewl,

Even in future all the 4 lines will not be made dedicated for the suburban in MSB Chennai Beach(from Beach to Egmore we have 3 lines only) - TBM Tambaram line.

Once the gauge conversion and few doubling projects gets completed in TN, there will be more day trains/night trains running from Chennai Egmore to parts of Tamilnadu. So Southern railway can never even think of making the other two tracks between Egmore and Tambaram as suburban exclusive.

Chennai Metro Washermanpet-Airport will surely help the growing demand of MSB-TBM suburban.

Yup, there are plans for quadrupling the entire Chennai Beach - Tambaram Line for Suburban. Mabbe they'll operate the fourth line from Egmore and 3 lines from chennai beach! that's not a bad idea though..

[Arul Murugan]

Chennai Suburban to be extended till Tindivanam after 3rd line GC between CGL-TBM and doubling between CGL-VM!!

http://www.dailythanthi.com/thanthie...0988&code=3469

Few express trains will be terminated at Tambaram instead of going all the way till Egmore.

I dont know how public will reach if the trains get terminated at Tambaram itself.

[coolmukund]

Today i saw a Volvo in the 15B route.......... i never knew that they introduced a Volvo in this route.

[Kewl Batty]

Originally Posted by coolmukund

Today i saw a Volvo in the 15B route.......... i never knew that they introduced a Volvo in this route.

I guess MTC has got the remaining 6 volvos of the 20... I spotted M70 volvo and now coolmukund spotted 15B.. and mabbe one or two more route to be found.

[Kewl Batty]

I guess there's a service to Mamallapuram from CMBT... dont remember the route number... can anyone lemme know the route no.?

[krishnancv]

i want to go from mylapore to kovilambakkam can anyone suggest any proper bus route i checked with various websites but not sure of the buses frequency

[Kewl Batty]

Originally Posted by krishnancv

i want to go from mylapore to kovilambakkam can anyone suggest any proper bus route i checked with various websites but not sure of the buses frequency

There's no direct bus.. Take M15 from mylapore to vijayanagar and then take V51 from there to kovilambakkam
Or reach medavakkam junction and then take V51, B51, M14 from there to Kovilambakkam

[krishnancv]

Originally Posted by Kewl Batty

There's no direct bus.. Take M15 from mylapore to vijayanagar and then take V51 from there to kovilambakkam
Or reach medavakkam junction and then take V51, B51, M14 from there to Kovilambakkam

thanks well it seems places like those aren't still properly connected to various parts of city. I took an MRTS till Velachery and then a share auto. The driver didn't reduce the price from 15 per person as he is well sure that the route is ill serviced and there is the usual reason of the rains and so so.
Long since the MTC started feeder services to those parts.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by Kewl Batty

The main problem is state tax in Tamil Nadu which makes the volvo bus cost to 78 lakhs as against Karnataka where it is only 58 lakhs!!

The volvo costs close to a Crore in Karnataka. Karnataka has the most outrageous road taxes in the Country. However, being a state government undertaking, BMTC benefits from having to pay lesser.

Originally Posted by PlaneMad

But the state tax goes back to the govt. its only the private buyers who are affected aint it?

Not really... the STUs are required to pay tax to the state government. But the amount then comes back to STUs as government funding

Originally Posted by calculus_ask

Good Information.. i was wondering why so many private buses and trucks are registered in blore!

99% if the private buses (aka Omni buses) operating to Bangalore is registered in Karnataka, not because of lesser taxes, but because of higher entry tax! These buses are required to pay an annual "tourist" tax to the government (Depending on the type of permit they have), and it is very very high in Karnataka. This is why majority of operators keep a seperate fleet for operating to Karnataka.

Kallada Tours and Travels is a firm based in Irinjalakuda in Thrissur District (kerala). Almost all their operations are to Bangalore. Because of this, all their buses are registered in Bangalore!

In the late 90s, Conti Travels (based in Coimbatore) used to have most of their buses registered in Mahe or Kozhikode, to save on Road tax. Tax used to be higher in TN than Kerala those days. (I am not sure of what the situation is like now).

A request to members: Can somebody get some good pics of the new buses introduced in Chennai? There are no good pics of Chennai Volvos around.

I had taken some pics during my visit to Chennai in December 2007. You can see them here.

For those who like to see Volvos in bangalore, click here.

[H Factor]

Originally Posted by binaiks

The volvo costs close to a Crore in Karnataka. Karnataka has the most outrageous road taxes in the Country. However, being a state government undertaking, BMTC benefits from having to pay lesser.



Not really... the STUs are required to pay tax to the state government. But the amount then comes back to STUs as government funding



99% if the private buses (aka Omni buses) operating to Bangalore is registered in Karnataka, not because of lesser taxes, but because of higher entry tax! These buses are required to pay an annual "tourist" tax to the government (Depending on the type of permit they have), and it is very very high in Karnataka. This is why majority of operators keep a seperate fleet for operating to Karnataka.

Kallada Tours and Travels is a firm based in Irinjalakuda in Thrissur District (kerala). Almost all their operations are to Bangalore. Because of this, all their buses are registered in Bangalore!

In the late 90s, Conti Travels (based in Coimbatore) used to have most of their buses registered in Mahe or Kozhikode, to save on Road tax. Tax used to be higher in TN than Kerala those days. (I am not sure of what the situation is like now).

A request to members: Can somebody get some good pics of the new buses introduced in Chennai? There are no good pics of Chennai Volvos around.

I had taken some pics during my visit to Chennai in December 2007. You can see them here.

For those who like to see Volvos in bangalore, click here.

Is all these pic taken in MG Rd (Besant nagar) near Tom & Jerry shop? You ll not find single volvo bus here... as most of them operate from Tiruvanmiyur!

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by H Factor

Is all these pic taken in MG Rd (Besant nagar) near Tom & Jerry shop? You ll not find single volvo bus here... as most of them operate from Tiruvanmiyur!

I was on a visit to a relatives place at Adayar. I am not sure of what all buses operate there. However, I did spot a couple of Volvos outside Adayar depot the previous night.

At that times, there were too little volvos to be spotted, sir!

[ferrari_fan]

there's 20 volvos driving around in a city of 6 million... naturally there aren't many to be seen...

we need a LOT more volvos if there's to be any real shift from cars to public transport...

[Kewl Batty]

Originally Posted by ferrari_fan

there's 20 volvos driving around in a city of 6 million... naturally there aren't many to be seen...

we need a LOT more volvos if there's to be any real shift from cars to public transport...

Small correction .. its 32 volvos.. the thing is volvos are spread throught chennai. Tats y its rare to spot a volvo...
6 routes pass thiruvanmiyur and 5 pass thru velachery.. 2 across poonamalle, 2 in perambur, its spreaded out..

But still its very less in number. And Chennai's population is 8 million!!

[Arul Murugan]

Can any one tell how many volvos or AC buses are there in Bangalore, Hyderabad, NewDelhi, Mumbai and Kolkatta.

Chennai started the race very lately.

And there are information about AC buses to Kalpakkam, Kanchipuram from the city.

http://indianrailways.informe.com/fo...dt121-210.html

see the post by srikanthlogic.

[Kewl Batty]

Originally Posted by Arul Murugan

Can any one tell how many volvos or AC buses are there in Bangalore, Hyderabad, NewDelhi, Mumbai and Kolkatta.

Chennai started the race very lately.

And there are information about AC buses to Kalpakkam, Kanchipuram from the city.

http://indianrailways.informe.com/fo...dt121-210.html

see the post by srikanthlogic.

Thats a good move so they will also get good service from MTC... They should then augment the fleet atleast by another 1000 buses to meet the needs!
Since both Kanchipuram and Kalpakkam are around 80 kms from city, it'll be a real challenge for MTC to operate more service with juzz 4000+ buses for an operating circle of 80 kms!