Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has said that the DPR for Coimbatore Metro Rail project (phase 1) which was submitted to the Tamil Nadu Government on July 14 is still waiting for approval, and matters regarding funding of Coimbatore Metro Project will be decided after DPR's approval.

A Coimbatorean named V.Balasubramanian recently submitted a RTI petition asking various information about the upcoming Coimbatore Metro Project, like whether the chief minister has granted approval to the DPR of Coimbatore metro rail project and whether the central government has accepted to fund the Rs.9000 crore project, and also enquired when the land acquisition for the project will commence.

Responding to balasubramanians questions the Chennai Metro Rail Limited said that the DPR is waiting for approval and after the approval matters regarding the fundings will be decided.

It must be mentioned that in Nov.2023, Managing Director of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) Siddique reportedly said that the Coimbatore & Madurai Metro Train Projects are under the consideration of Finance Ministry and Special Projects Implementation Department of Tamil Nadu Government and CMRL will commence work on these projects once the bank that will fund the projects are finalized and funds are handed over. 

Coimbatore & Madurai Metro Projects have not moved forward, and media reports in Nov.'23 stated that since the bank (Germany's KfW Development Bank which supports projects that involve public sector players) that was expected to fund the projects cited reasons and backed down, the projects appear to be shelved. 

As of now, there is no clear indication of whether the Central Government will contribute, and if so how much. 

Coimbatore Metro Rail Project's estimated budget is Rs.9000 crore while Madurai Metro is estimated to be at Rs.8,500 crore.