UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Railway Board clears MRTS merger with Metro Rail
Q1. In the context of the transfer approved by the Railway Board in August 2026, the MRTS in Chennai is best described as which one of the following?
- A. An elevated urban rail corridor operated by the Southern Railway zone of Indian Railways since the 1990s
- B. An elevated urban rail corridor built and operated by Chennai Metro Rail Limited since its opening in 2015
- C. A suburban rail service run by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority along the Buckingham Canal alignment
- D. A monorail-based feeder network operated by the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation to serve metro stations
Q2. Under the merger arrangement cleared in August 2026, Chennai Metro Rail Limited has been allowed a transition period of how many years to fully take over train operations on the MRTS corridor?
- A. One year
- B. Two years
- C. Three years
- D. Five years
Q3. Prior to the transfer arrangement of 2026, which one of the following correctly describes the equity ownership of the Chennai MRTS?
- A. A joint arrangement in which the Tamil Nadu government held the larger share, about two-thirds, and Indian Railways the remainder
- B. An asset owned exclusively by Indian Railways, the State government having no equity whatsoever in it
- C. An asset owned entirely by Chennai Metro Rail Limited, which had operated the corridor ever since its opening in the 1990s
- D. A joint arrangement in which Indian Railways held about two-thirds of the equity and the Tamil Nadu government the remainder
Q4. Chennai Metro Rail Limited, the company into which the MRTS is being absorbed, was set up as a joint venture of the Union and Tamil Nadu governments in which year?
- A. 2002
- B. 2007
- C. 2011
- D. 2015
Q5. Under the hand-over arrangement between Southern Railway and the Tamil Nadu government, non-operational MRTS assets such as land, stations, lifts, escalators and foot-over-bridges are to be transferred within how many days?
- A. 30 days
- B. 60 days
- C. 90 days
- D. 180 days
Q6. Formal approval for handing over the MRTS to Chennai Metro Rail Limited in August 2026 was accorded by which one of the following authorities?
- A. The Railway Board, the apex administrative body of the Ministry of Railways
- B. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the nodal ministry for metro rail projects
- C. The Commissioner of Railway Safety, functioning under the Ministry of Civil Aviation
- D. NITI Aayog, in exercise of its mandate over Centre–State infrastructure coordination
Q7. Consider the following statements regarding the Metro Rail Policy under which metro projects in India seek central assistance:
1. It makes private sector participation through public-private partnership mandatory for availing central assistance for new metro projects.
2. One of the routes for central assistance is a public-private partnership with support under the Viability Gap Funding scheme of the Ministry of Finance.
3. A project must demonstrate a minimum Financial Internal Rate of Return of 14 per cent to qualify for central assistance.
4. The policy was approved by the Union Cabinet in the year 2017.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- It makes private sector participation through public-private partnership mandatory for availing central assistance for new metro projects.
- One of the routes for central assistance is a public-private partnership with support under the Viability Gap Funding scheme of the Ministry of Finance.
- A project must demonstrate a minimum Financial Internal Rate of Return of 14 per cent to qualify for central assistance.
- The policy was approved by the Union Cabinet in the year 2017.
- A. 1 and 3
- B. 2 only
- C. 3 and 4
- D. 3 only
Q8. Consider the following statements about the institutional and funding structure of metro rail in India:
1. Chennai Metro Rail Limited is a joint venture of the Government of India and the Government of Tamil Nadu.
2. Chennai Metro Phase-II has been sanctioned as a Central Sector project, with the Union Government financing about 65 per cent of the estimated cost.
3. Under the grant route of the Metro Rail Policy, lump sum central assistance amounts to 10 per cent of the project cost.
4. Under the equity-sharing route of the Metro Rail Policy, the Centre and the State contribute equity in the ratio of 65:35.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Chennai Metro Rail Limited is a joint venture of the Government of India and the Government of Tamil Nadu.
- Chennai Metro Phase-II has been sanctioned as a Central Sector project, with the Union Government financing about 65 per cent of the estimated cost.
- Under the grant route of the Metro Rail Policy, lump sum central assistance amounts to 10 per cent of the project cost.
- Under the equity-sharing route of the Metro Rail Policy, the Centre and the State contribute equity in the ratio of 65:35.
- A. 1, 2 and 3
- B. 2, 3 and 4
- C. 1 and 4 only
- D. 1, 3 and 4
Q9. Which of the following are correctly identified as corridors of Chennai Metro Phase-II, along with their approved length and number of stations?
1. Madhavaram to SIPCOT — 45.8 km with 50 stations
2. Lighthouse to Poonamallee Bypass — 26.1 km with 30 stations
3. Madhavaram to Sholinganallur — 47 km with 48 stations
4. Chennai Beach to Velachery — 24 km with 21 stations
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- Madhavaram to SIPCOT — 45.8 km with 50 stations
- Lighthouse to Poonamallee Bypass — 26.1 km with 30 stations
- Madhavaram to Sholinganallur — 47 km with 48 stations
- Chennai Beach to Velachery — 24 km with 21 stations
- A. 1, 2 and 4
- B. 1, 2 and 3
- C. 2, 3 and 4
- D. 1 and 4 only
Q10. Consider the following statements about Chennai Metro Phase-II:
1. It has an approved length of about 118.9 km with 128 stations.
2. Its approved project completion cost is about ₹36,000 crore.
3. Once it is fully operational, Chennai will have a total metro rail network of about 173 km.
4. It is financed entirely through an external loan, with no equity contribution from the Union Government.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- It has an approved length of about 118.9 km with 128 stations.
- Its approved project completion cost is about ₹36,000 crore.
- Once it is fully operational, Chennai will have a total metro rail network of about 173 km.
- It is financed entirely through an external loan, with no equity contribution from the Union Government.
- A. 1 and 3
- B. 2 and 4
- C. 2 only
- D. 3 and 4
Q11. Tamil Nadu has sought an external loan of about ₹4,000 crore to upgrade the MRTS corridor to Metro standards and integrate it with the Chennai Metro network. This assistance is being sought from which one of the following institutions?
- A. The World Bank
- B. The Japan International Cooperation Agency
- C. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
- D. The New Development Bank of the BRICS grouping
Q12. The MRTS takeover adds to a metro rail footprint that crossed the 1,000 route-km mark in 2025, making India's network the third largest in the world. At that milestone, metro rail services were operational in how many cities in India?
- A. 15 cities
- B. 23 cities
- C. 29 cities
- D. 35 cities