Balaji Awarded Chennai – Tamil Nadu RRTS Project’s Feasibility Contracts

Balaji Railroad Systems (BARSYL) this Thursday was awarded three contracts for preparing detailed feasibility reports (DFRs) of new Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) lines in Tamil Nadu.

The contracts for new semi high-speed rail lines, similar to the ones in Delhi – NCR, have been proposed to connect (1) Chennai – Kanchipuram – Vellore, (2) Chennai – Chengalpattu – Tindivanam – Villupuram, and (3) Coimbatore – Tirupur – Erode – Salem.

While the feasibility reports will suggest a tentative length for finalization, which can change even after project approval, I reckon the first two lines will be roughly 110 km long, while the Coimbatore – Salem line will be 150 km long.

CMRL had invited bids for all 3 contracts in April 2025 with a 180 completion deadline. Technical bids were opened on May 16, while financial bids were opened on June 10 to reveal BARSYL as the lowest bidder. CMRL issued contract LOAs to them on July 3.

Note: BARSYL’s bid value displayed below is the exact contract value in each case.

Chennai – Kanchipuram – Vellore (Financial Results)

Firm	Bid (Rs.)
Balaji Railroad Systems Pvt. Ltd.	72.88 lakh
Urban Mass Transit Company Ltd.	1.20 cr
Centro de Estudios de Materiales y Control de Obra, SA.	1.33 cr
Aarvee Engineering Consultants Ltd.	1.33 cr
Chennai Global Services	DQ

Chennai – Chengalpattu – Tindivanam – Villupuram (Financial Results)

Firm	Bid (Rs.)
Balaji Railroad Systems Pvt. Ltd.	74.78 lakh
Aarvee Engineering Consultants Ltd.	1.36 cr
Urban Mass Transit Company Ltd.	1.45 cr
Centro de Estudios de Materiales y Control de Obra, SA.	1.61 cr
SYSTRA MVA Consulting (India) Pvt. Ltd.	2.34 cr
Chennai Global Services	DQ

Coimbatore – Tirupur – Erode – Salem (Financial Results)

Firm	Bid (Rs.)
Balaji Railroad Systems Pvt. Ltd.	74.78 lakh
Centro de Estudios de Materiales y Control de Obra, SA.	1.38 cr
Aarvee Engineering Consultants Ltd.	1.42 cr
Urban Mass Transit Company Ltd.	1.57 cr
SYSTRA MVA Consulting (India) Pvt. Ltd.	2.78 cr

This is an excellent first step for Tamil Nadu, and I hope other states look into building a similar semi high-speed rail network. Ideally the under construction Bengaluru Suburban Rail project should have been configured in a similar outward way instead of focusing inward which should all fall under one organization, in this case, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation.

Anyhow, I’ll carve out a new Chennai RRTS category and create an information page as and when this project progress.

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– TMRG