Dynesh Vijayaraghavan

Chennai/Sydney. Transport planner. Management consultant for infrastructure projects. Frequent liker of cat and dog pics. All views own.

[Dynesh Vijayaraghavan @dyneshv]

Even with buses, most bus operators are essentially state level undertakings (with some exceptions). Commissioners may sit on boards but city govt does not often have influence or inputs into everyday policy or ops. UMTAs are supposed to fill that gap but may need planning power.

[Dynesh Vijayaraghavan @dyneshv]

Central-state SPVs for metros was a step change from the centralised Indian Railway approach (where states often had no influence). But this devolution hasn't fully trickled down. Some metros have city officers on their boards but little power vests with elected local reps.

[Street Frontier @streetfrontier]

Here's one of the plans put forward by newly elected LA Mayor @nithyavraman, who also happens to be an urban planner by profession.

Such detailed city-wide plans are rarely part of Chief Minister's manifesto, and this is just one among several other plans she has for the city.

[Dynesh Vijayaraghavan @dyneshv]

@titoraja This is east of the existing station right? What about the future Avadi line? Will it be a spur from this phase 2 station?

[Dynesh Vijayaraghavan @dyneshv]

@titoraja @mosesjs2013 Would think if it's towards Siruseri it can't be for a loop. Possible that they're stabling lines, if a crossover is also being built. Is there a curve from the L5 ELCOT side towards Siruseri? I assume there isn't?

[Andy Boenau @Boenau]

Wonderful transformation. Eventually, visitors will assume this waterfront was always pleasant to walk around.

[Dynesh Vijayaraghavan @dyneshv]

This delay once again highlights how the UK treasury knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.

[Chris Howell @ChrisHowellFCA]

MPs spend all day discussing trivia. If only they could scrutinise why tf opening HS2 is still 17 years off. We aren't optimising for early opening or overall cost. My guess is artificial delay to keep an arbitrary treasury spreadsheet happy but who knows. https://t.co/lc9B6sjQx6

[Dynesh Vijayaraghavan @dyneshv]

@titoraja Yeah would think it's the holidays only. Was it 3 bidders?

[Dynesh Vijayaraghavan @dyneshv]

@djeksnfnfj15091 @NammaChennai_ @grok That is true but Pannur had more on-site challenges which is why Parandur was preferred. Again, it's obvious Parandur is the ideal option, and they should really go back to it.

[Dynesh Vijayaraghavan @dyneshv]

Not entirely surprising if true. The most obvious option for Chennai's 2nd airport is to go back to Parandur but assuming the government doesn't intend to do that for political reasons, I'd hope they think of a 3rd option at Cheyyar and use it as a catalyst for a TN HSR line.

[Chennai Updates @UpdatesChennai]

AAI unlikely to recommend any of the two sites - Gummidipoondi & Cheyyur due to proximity to Sriharikota, Kalpakkam power plant. We keep telling that there's no alternate & TVK Govt cancelled Parandur just for it's political gain... 😑

[Dynesh Vijayaraghavan @dyneshv]

@NammaChennai_ @djeksnfnfj15091 Pannur had almost all the connectivity benefits of Parandur but had more families who'd be displaced and HT towers. It's a relstively good site, objectively speaking, and would be closer than Cheyyar for sure. But surely there will be protests there too 🤷🏽‍♂️?

[Dynesh Vijayaraghavan @dyneshv]

@parim Though to state the obvious, it's further from Chennai than Parandur ever was.

[Dynesh Vijayaraghavan @dyneshv]

@parim It's Cheyyur that's further east (on the coast). Cheyyar is southwest of Kanchipuram (and so west of the current mainline, though it will be on the u/c Tindivanam-Nagari line). Any new expressway or rail line south could easily be routed through that site.

[Dynesh Vijayaraghavan @dyneshv]

I really wish one day the United States gets the passenger rail network it deserves. The demand is clearly there!

[Pop Base @PopBase]

Amtrak has broken its annual ridership record, completing more than 37 million trips in 2026.

It's the third year in a row the transit agency has set a new ridership high.

(https://t.co/mRHlDXvSBZ)

[Chennai Updates @UpdatesChennai]

AAI unlikely to recommend any of the two sites - Gummidipoondi & Cheyyur due to proximity to Sriharikota, Kalpakkam power plant. We keep telling that there's no alternate & TVK Govt cancelled Parandur just for it's political gain... 😑

[Dynesh Vijayaraghavan @dyneshv]

@jputerka Can't speak to why it's taken so much time but I know they had a bunch of lines planned which got delayed or put on hold. Wouldn't Montpellier to Perpignan complete the link to Spain?

[Dynesh Vijayaraghavan @dyneshv]

Very impressive that France can tender for a new high speed railway line by the end of 2026 and be confident about trains running by 2032. They really do know how to do this well.

[Oscar @Pendragon2695]

SNCF ha confirmado en su pasado consejo de administración que sacará antes de final de año las dos licitaciones para el diseño y contrucción ddl tramo de alta velocidad Tolouse - Burdeos. Previsro funcionamiento en 2032 y 14.000 millones de euros de coste.

[Dynesh Vijayaraghavan @dyneshv]

@MaskeAn_300Bar @klausdietermai1 Yes well, I cant argue with that!

[Dynesh Vijayaraghavan @dyneshv]

@rich_p_gray Exactly this. When inhouse expertise on contracting and project management has been built up over decades, a lot of things are standardised or at least predictable. Compare this to the UK's HS2 contracts which fundamentally didn't understand how to price and manage project risks.

[Dynesh Vijayaraghavan @dyneshv]

@shthng14701 @reclaimchennai Nonsensical view IMO. You're talking as if governments can only do one thing at a time. Quality of life is not a middle class delusion and the poorest people benefit the most from improved environments, as long as gatekeeping is restricted.

[Dynesh Vijayaraghavan @dyneshv]

@delalurx Oh well, I still hope it happens some day!

[Dynesh Vijayaraghavan @dyneshv]

@kynakwado2 @vinayakj02 Absolutely. In some recent years, India electrified more route km in that year than the entire UK electrified network by length. Scales are obviously very different but India understood why rolling electrification is so important.