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<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Some of you may be interested to know that Chennai (formerly Madras) in India is in the midst of a heated controversy over public transport. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">The Tamil Nadu state government decision to opt for a huge monorail network is the issue. </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">See </FONT><A HREF="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=chennai+monorail&btnG=Search+News"><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=chennai+monorail&btnG=Search+News</FONT></U></A><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial"> for the latest. </FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Both 'Metro' supporters and BRT supporters seem to be weighing in (with the heavy rail supporters louder and more influential it seems). </FONT></P>
<P><A HREF="http://www.hindu.com/2006/02/03/stories/2006020315440700.htm"><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">http://www.hindu.com/2006/02/03/stories/2006020315440700.htm</FONT></U></A><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial"> (Monorail plan ill-advised: Sreedharan)</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">"The Tamil Nadu Government's decision to go for monorail for Chennai city to meet its growing traffic needs is most `unfortunate' as it will not help meet the transport requirement of city commuters," says Delhi Metro Rail Corporation managing director E. Sreedharan.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Already the State had burnt its fingers with the "ill-advised" mass rapid transit system (MRTS) and the monorail would be its another "ill-advised venture," he said in a letter to the State Government.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">The State, which had asked the DMRC to submit a comprehensive report for a rail based metro system for Chennai, dashed off a letter to the Corporation recently asking it to stop all its investigations and surveys.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Expressing surprise over the decision, Mr. Sreedharan suspected that the State had been "influenced by monorail lobby with its tall claims and false promises." The lobby, the letter noted, had already stalled the metro project in Bangalore. …</FONT></P>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">or </FONT><A HREF="http://www.hindu.com/2006/01/29/stories/2006012901640500.htm"><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">http://www.hindu.com/2006/01/29/stories/2006012901640500.htm</FONT></U></A><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial"> (Divergent views emerge on utility of monorail project)</FONT></P>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Any comments?</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Paul</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=1 FACE="Arial">Paul A. Barter | Assistant Professor | LKY School of Public Policy | National University of Singapore | 29 Heng Mui Keng Terrace | Singapore 119620 | Tel: ᄍ-<SPAN LANG="en-gb">6516</SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-au"> 3324 | Fax: ᄍ-6778 1020 | Email: paulbarter@nus.edu.sg | </SPAN></FONT><A HREF="http://www.spp.nus.edu.sg/faculty/paulbarter/"><SPAN LANG="en-au"><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" SIZE=1 FACE="Arial">http://www.spp.nus.edu.sg/faculty/paulbarter/</FONT></U></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-au"></SPAN></A><SPAN LANG="en-au"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-au"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-au"><FONT SIZE=1 FACE="Arial"> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN LANG="en-au"><FONT SIZE=1 FACE="Arial">I am speaking for myself, not for my employers. </FONT></SPAN>
<BR><SPAN LANG="en-au"><FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE=1 FACE="Arial">Are you interested in urban transport in developing countries? Then try </FONT></SPAN><A HREF="http://urbantransportasia.blogspot.com/"><SPAN LANG="en-au"><U></U><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" SIZE=1 FACE="Arial">http://urbantransportasia.blogspot.com/</FONT></U></SPAN></A><SPAN LANG="en-au"></SPAN>
<BR><SPAN LANG="en-au"><FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE=1 FACE="Arial">And consider joining the SUSTRAN-DISCUSS list, </FONT></SPAN><A HREF="http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss"><SPAN LANG="en-au"><U></U><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" SIZE=1 FACE="Arial">http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss</FONT></U></SPAN></A><SPAN LANG="en-au"><FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE=1 FACE="Arial"> or </FONT></SPAN><A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/sustrannet/"><SPAN LANG="en-au"><U></U><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" SIZE=1 FACE="Arial">http://www.geocities.com/sustrannet/</FONT></U></SPAN></A><SPAN LANG="en-au"><FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE=1 FACE="Arial"></FONT> </SPAN></P>
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