This study aims to analyse the inter-rail modal shift behaviour of suburban rail passengers to examine ridership for the proposed metro extension corridor in Chennai, India. This investigation was conducted in 2019 as part of a feasibility study for the extension of the metro line spanning between Chennai Airport and Kilambakkam, a southern suburb of Chennai. The same origin–destination pair is also served by the suburban rail system. It is an extension of the operating line from Washermenpet to the airport of the Phase I metro project. For this inter-rail competition study, a sample of 272 suburban rail passengers covering work, education and other trip purposes were interviewed using a stated preference questionnaire. Six stated scenarios were considered for analyses which included travel time saving by using the metro along with the fare difference between metro and bus. The study revealed that suburban rail passengers were less concerned about travel time saving and gave priority to fare difference irrespective of trip purpose. This shows the unique metro choice behaviour of suburban rail travellers in the Indian context.

本研究旨在分析郊区铁路乘客的铁路间模式转换行为，以检查印度钦奈拟议的地铁延伸走廊的乘客量。这项调查于 2019 年进行，作为延长金奈机场和金奈南郊 Kilambakkam 之间的地铁线路可行性研究的一部分。郊区铁路系统也为相同的起点-终点对提供服务。是地铁一期项目Washermenpet至机场运营线的延伸。对于这项铁路间竞争研究，使用陈述的偏好问卷调查了 272 名涵盖工作、教育和其他旅行目的的郊区铁路乘客样本。考虑了六种规定的情景进行分析，其中包括使用地铁节省的旅行时间以及地铁和公共汽车之间的票价差异。研究表明，郊区铁路乘客不太关心节省旅行时间，无论旅行目的如何，都优先考虑票价差异。这显示了印度背景下郊区铁路旅客独特的地铁选择行为。