No more Metro Rail course at IIT-M
The PG course was
started two years ago
to train students for
Metro Rail projects;
CMRL says it has
recruited adequate
number of students for
present needs.
A postgraduate diploma
course sponsored by
Chennai Metro Rail
Limited (CMRL) and
offered at IIT-Madras
has been discontinued.
The user-oriented
course, started two
years ago, was meant
to train students in the
workings of a Metro Rail
system, and to ensure
there were trained
professionals at hand
for the city’s dream
transport project.
CMRL officials however
said that as they had
recruited an adequate
number of students for
the project at present,
they had merely put the
course on a break.
Nearly nine students in
the first batch were
employed by CMRL, and
13 from the present
batch will be soon roped
in, officials said. The
first batch of students
who pursued the course
has been placed across
different departments
of CMRL, including
construction, electrical,
underground, signalling,
telecommunications and
the systems divisions.
While the course was
on, CMRL paid students
a stipend of Rs. 20,000
per month and later,
increased salaries once
they were recruited.
“We will be paid nearly
Rs. 45,000 once we are
put on the job,” said a
student who had
completed the course.
The course itself has
been quite rigorous, he
said, with lectures on
civil engineering,
management and
specific topics by IIT-M
professors and CMRL
officials. “It is helpful
for many youngsters
keen to work with
Metro Rail,” he said.
Coordinator of the
course at IIT-M, R.G.
Robinson said, “We are
sure CMRL will start it
again when they need
more professionals.”
When contacted, a CMRL
official said, “We have
only one stretch now
and the requirements
were fewer.”
While Chennai’s Metro
project may have
satisfied its staff
requirements at
present, the need for
trained staff across the
country is acute as
Metro Rails are coming
up in several cities now.
It was only last year
that Delhi Metro Rail
Corporation’s managing
director E. Sreedharan
wrote to the Union HRD
ministry, seeking
assistance for the
creation of a cadre of
engineers with
specialised skills needed
for Metro projects, and
asked for all IITs to
begin such courses.
IIT-Delhi got there first,
four years ago, and
professors there said
the course was still on.
started two years ago
to train students for
Metro Rail projects;
CMRL says it has
recruited adequate
number of students for
present needs.
A postgraduate diploma
course sponsored by
Chennai Metro Rail
Limited (CMRL) and
offered at IIT-Madras
has been discontinued.
The user-oriented
course, started two
years ago, was meant
to train students in the
workings of a Metro Rail
system, and to ensure
there were trained
professionals at hand
for the city’s dream
transport project.
CMRL officials however
said that as they had
recruited an adequate
number of students for
the project at present,
they had merely put the
course on a break.
Nearly nine students in
the first batch were
employed by CMRL, and
13 from the present
batch will be soon roped
in, officials said. The
first batch of students
who pursued the course
has been placed across
different departments
of CMRL, including
construction, electrical,
underground, signalling,
telecommunications and
the systems divisions.
While the course was
on, CMRL paid students
a stipend of Rs. 20,000
per month and later,
increased salaries once
they were recruited.
“We will be paid nearly
Rs. 45,000 once we are
put on the job,” said a
student who had
completed the course.
The course itself has
been quite rigorous, he
said, with lectures on
civil engineering,
management and
specific topics by IIT-M
professors and CMRL
officials. “It is helpful
for many youngsters
keen to work with
Metro Rail,” he said.
Coordinator of the
course at IIT-M, R.G.
Robinson said, “We are
sure CMRL will start it
again when they need
more professionals.”
When contacted, a CMRL
official said, “We have
only one stretch now
and the requirements
were fewer.”
While Chennai’s Metro
project may have
satisfied its staff
requirements at
present, the need for
trained staff across the
country is acute as
Metro Rails are coming
up in several cities now.
It was only last year
that Delhi Metro Rail
Corporation’s managing
director E. Sreedharan
wrote to the Union HRD
ministry, seeking
assistance for the
creation of a cadre of
engineers with
specialised skills needed
for Metro projects, and
asked for all IITs to
begin such courses.
IIT-Delhi got there first,
four years ago, and
professors there said
the course was still on.
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