Metro Extension Plans Delayed: No Developments Expected in 2025

The ambitious project to extend the Metro Express network towards the North, East, and La Vigie from the central station in Curepipe is facing significant challenges. In a statement made on January 2, to Week-End, the Minister of Land Transport, Osman Mahomed, announced that the extension will not be a matter of priority in 2025. He emphasized the “catastrophic financial situation” of Metro Express Ltd (MEL) as the primary reason for this decision.

Just months earlier, on September 29, during an event at the SVI Conference Centre to celebrate International Day of Older Persons, former Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth confidently proclaimed that the railway line would soon be extended beyond Réduit to various destinations across the island, including the East, North, South, and West.

However, the current economic state of the railway firm appears to have shifted the narrative dramatically.

Mahomed cited alarming statistics to illustrate MEL’s dire financial condition.

The company is reportedly suffering from an annual deficit of Rs 300 million, compounded by debts totaling Rs 17 billion.

Additionally, the firm incurs an annual loss of Rs 65 million due to fare evasion among passengers.

The last audited accounts for Metro Express were conducted by Moore Stephens in 2021, with no audits available for 2022, 2023, or 2024.

According to Minister Mahomed, 2025 will be a crucial year for reassessment, and he expressed concerns about the impracticality of injecting additional billions, taxpayer money, into a project that has yet to gain traction, especially given the company’s unsatisfactory self-funding capacity.

While affirming that employee salaries and bonuses will be honored, Mahomed described the financial predicament as a “puzzle” that the government aims to solve.

He expressed skepticism over the viability of extending the rail line first to Ébène and Réduit, and later to Côte-d’Or, labeling it “a financial suicide orchestrated by irresponsible individuals for electoral gain.”

He criticized the investment of Rs 13.5 billion for just 10.5 kilometers of railway between Réduit and Côte-d’Or, highlighting the astronomical cost of Rs 1.1 billion per kilometer, which he deemed nonsensical.

Moreover, Mahomed pointed out a lack of initiatives to encourage commuters to abandon their cars in favor of the metro system.

He argued that expanding road networks ultimately promotes car use while discouraging mass transit options like the metro.

“This lack of planning is astounding,” he remarked.

With the metro extension indefinitely delayed, the government will soon need to focus on an essential task: overhauling current train carriages.

This significant undertaking, aimed at replacing outdated or malfunctioning components, is expected to incur substantial costs.

Minister Mahomed, who recently took on this ministerial portfolio, acknowledged that the metro system stands at a crossroads, and he is prepared to meet the challenge head-on.

He reiterated the government’s commitment to investing in the refurbishment of aging trains and expressed determination to turn the situation around, despite the financial burdens of such an overhaul.

Source: Le Mauricien