However, with the implementation of the Chennai Metro Rail, the plan for developing these two phases have been dropped, since these overlap with the alignment of the Chennai Metro Rail. Proposed Chennai to Cuddalore Port coastal railway corridor In 2008, a proposal was initiated to construct a new railway line from Perungudi MRTS station in Chennai to Pondicherry via Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) and East Coast Road (ECR). The line emanating from Perungudi MRTS station is envisaged to be 179 km long and is expected to traverse via Sholinganallur, SIPCOT, Kovalam, Tiruporur, Mamallapuram, Kalpakkam, Koovathur, Cheyyur, Marakkanam, Koonimedu, Kuilappalayam, JIPMER in Pondicherry, Bahour, Varakalpattu, and Tirupadiripuliyur to reach Cuddalore Port Jn. The railway line would run on an embankment. There was also a proposal to extend the line up to Karaikal via Mayiladuthurai. The railway line was sanctioned in the 2007 supplementary budget with an estimated cost of 5,230 million. However, there has been a delay owing to lack of funds and the project is expected to be completed in about 10 years. To expedite the project, the railway board is looking out for multiple options including private contribution, although the model is not yet finalised. There are also alternative plans of beginning or linking the line to Chengalpet. This railway corridor is expected to reduce the travel time between Chennai and Pondicherry to two hours against five hours along the present route via Villupuram. In October 2013, the state government started acquiring land for the 179-km project. At that time the project was estimated to cost 8,000 million. Merging with Chennai Metro The MRTS will be merged with Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) by 2021, for which PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has been appointed as a consultant. Following the merger, the existing suburban trains that the MRTS use will be replaced by air-conditioned trains of Chennai Metro Rail. The fares of MRTS too will be increased to match that of Chennai Metro Rail and the ownership of existing assets of the MRTS will be transferred to CMRL. In July 2018, PwC said the merger would be a costly affair costing around 3,000 crore to change the trains and other facilities to facilitate the merger. On 11 May 2022, Southern Railway granted in-principle approval for the Chennai Metro to takeover the MRTS. Trivia MRTS schedules are available on Google Maps or Google Transit and this feature has been extended for Android smartphone