Congress and DMK MP engage in debate on X over Trichy Metro

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], August 31 (ANI): Congress MP Karti Chidambaram and DMK MP K.N. Arun Nehru engaged in a debate on social media platform ‘X’ over the proposal of Metro to Tamil Nadu’s Trichy.

Notably, both Congress and DMK are part of the INDIA bloc that swept Tamil Nadu in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

In his first post on X, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said, “Trichy doesn’t need a metro. We need to end these grand unthinking projects. Focus on the basics.”

DMK MP KN Arun Nehru replied to it and said, “Mr. Karthi. I have been thanking the people of Perambalur constituency for choosing me. My parliamentary constituency consists of 4 assembly constituencies from Trichy district. People have been overwhelmingly positive about the need for Metro projects connecting the rural areas to Trichy city Centre which houses colleges, hospitals, government offices etc. You must understand that the city has grown rapidly and needs modern infrastructure like the metro to manage the urban density where roads cannot handle future population growth.”

Further, the Congress MP said that he is glad that they both are debating public infra policy instead of the usual emotive issues dominating TN politics.

“This is how policy should be debated & made. I respect your view. I am a consistent supporter of Trichy, including proposals for a satellite state assembly and moving the TN Police HQ there. (I have publicly stated this & I have spoken in parliament about direct air connectivity to Delhi) With Indian metros underperforming in ridership — Delhi 47%, Mumbai 30%, Chennai 12% — & Chennai losing Rs 566 crore in FY23, how will Trichy with a 2.7M population sustain a metro? Trichy has other pressing needs which I believe take priority Major infra projects need wide public consultation & cost-benefit analysis,” MP Karti Chidambaram said.

The DMK MP again replied to it and said that most metro rail projects across the world don’t make money or just break even.

“We are missing the whole point if we are just focusing on the financials. We must take the overall growth in business, ease of commute, exchange of people and overall socioeconomic growth into account to understand the true impact of such incredible infrastructure investment. Without Chennai metro, Chennai’s roads would be clogged and the loss of economic opportunity due to congestion surely offsets any loss the Metro endures,” MP Arun Nehru said.

Karti Chidambaram, further questioned, “Does a Metro transportation system make sense to smaller cities, like Trichy, even taking into account population growth projections?

“What are the experiences of other smaller cities which have a “Metro”? Are there other public transportation solutions that would serve it better? Metro should be not the only option that is on the discussion table. The fact that there is a divergence of views about a public investment project, which is healthy in a democracy, calls for wider consultations & public hearings,” he said.

To this, DMK MP said that he agrees that Metro doesn’t work as efficiently when it runs on a standalone mode.

“Additional modes such as regular trains and Buses need to be integrated so that last mile is seamless. At the same time, moving people at scale from point A to point B, Metro does a good job. Our cities have been growing vertically for the past several years. This leaves us densely packed neighbourhoods where other forms of transport don’t fill the gap of serving on time/ convenience to citizens. Metro is designed mostly below ground or above, thereby utilizing a third dimension that is available without issue,” Nehru posted on X.