Chennai Metro Rail has been launched and the city has finally joined the league of cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Jaipur which have metro rail systems. Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa inaugurated Chennai Metro Rail Limited’s passenger services between Alandur and Koyambedu. She flagged of a train through video conferencing from the secretariat.

The facilities launched through video conferencing included seven stations on the first stretch — Koyambedu, Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus, Arumbakkam, Vadapalani, Ashok Nagar, Ekkattuthangal and Alandur — and CMRL’s depot at Koyambedu. The ten kilometre elevated stretch falls on the second corridor that runs for about 22km connecting Chennai Central with St Thomas Mount. The rail network would charge a minimum of Rs 10 and maximum of Rs 25 in the recently opened stretch. The fare is much cheaper than that charged by air-conditioned buses operated by the MTC.

What is a Monorail?

• A monorail is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail, typically elevated.
• A monorail, in simple terms, is an electric-powered bus that runs on an elevated concrete beam.
• The longest operational monorail line in the world is a 23.8-km corridor in Osaka.
• India is developing monorails in several cities for mass rapid transit with Mumbai Monorail being the first one

GK Question

• The Longest operational metro train is _______? The 430-km-long Shanghai Metro.