CUMTA Proposes Tamil Nadu Set Up Coordination Unit or SPV with Railways to Accelerate Projects.

The Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) is considering a proposal for the Tamil Nadu government to establish a Railway Coordination Unit (RCU) or a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in partnership with Indian Railways. This institutional mechanism aims to enhance coordination and accelerate the execution of railway projects across the state, said I Jeyakumar, Member Secretary of CUMTA.

Currently in the planning stage, the proposed RCU or SPV would be modeled on similar setups in Kerala, Karnataka, Haryana, and Maharashtra. It would comprise officials from both the state government and Indian Railways tasked with addressing critical issues such as land acquisition and ensuring coordination with local authorities like district collectors and the Railway Board during the early phases of project planning.

Land acquisition and coordination challenges have caused significant delays in several railway projects in Tamil Nadu. For example, around 150 Road Over Bridges (ROBs) remain pending for the past four to five years, despite requiring only about 100 square meters of land each. The establishment of the RCU or SPV is expected to streamline such processes and expedite project completion, Jeyakumar added.