The Chennai to Cuddalore ECR Railway project is part of an ambitious plan chalked out by the railways to connect Chennai to towns along the East Coast all the way up to Kanyakumari. Though the entire line will be executed later on, the railway board has given the go ahead to build the line from Chennai to Cuddalore at a cost of Rs 523 crore.

As per passenger feasibility survey on the route, Chennai to Puducherry and Cuddalore via Mahabalipuram line will be viable as more people are travelling from OMR and ECR because of the recent developments along South Chennai. A Chennai-Cuddalore line will enable passengers to board an Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) to Mamallapuram and then switch to conventional trains to Puducherry or Cuddalore. Travellers will be able to reach Puducherry in two hours, as against the five hours via the current line through Chennai Egmore-Villupuram-Puducherry.  Though Perungudi was fixed as a take off point, railways was also considering other options because they want to link the line to the main network. They were considering whether the new line can be connected to some point on the Beach-Tambaram line to handle long distance and freight trains.

Initially the operations wing has decided to operate EMUs from Chennai Beach via MRTS to Mamallapuram and conventional trains between Cuddalore and Mamallapuram via Puducherry. The board had approved the new line by including it in the supplementary budget of September 2007.Though the survey work for the east coast line was conducted in 2008, the project remained in cold storage for the last few years as the new line was considered unviable by the board. Also Rail users, including businessmen, have been demanding implementation of projects for more than a decade. 

. By the new plans of CMRL, It was informed that the starting point of the Chennai Cuddalore project has been shifted to Chengalpet from Perungudi. Passenger associations are, however, the most upbeat about the Chennai-Cuddalore line as they expect it to bring down the travel time to Puduchery and Cuddalore by at least an hour, compared to the exisiting circuitous route via Villupuram. And the tourists of Mahabalipuram to reach the Chennai Airport/Railway station or Puducherry easier and faster.

"Everyday, the region looses precious lives in road accidents besides suffering from traffic congestion"- Kiran Bedi, Former Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry.

As per the recent announcement the Railway Board has asked Southern Railway to stop funding for The Chennai to Cuddalore ECR Railway Project.

"Everyday, the region looses precious lives in road accidents besides suffering from traffic congestion"- Kiran Bedi, Former Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry.

Please sign this petition to urge the central and state government and The Railway Department of India to start the project immediately and allocate fund for it.

 (Please don't miss the email confirmation, which will be sent from change.org after signing the petition)

References:

• https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Blueprint-for-E-Coast-rail-link-to-Cuddalore-ready/articleshow/3150506.cms
• https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/do-not-spend-on-10-projects-railway-board-writes-to-sr/articleshow/71530316.cms
• https://chennaimetrorail.org/phase-ii/
• https://www.livechennai.com/detailnews.asp?newsid=42742