State back to DMRC for Rs 10,000-cr metro project

IF THE government claims are to be believed,the proposed Gandhinagar-Ahmedabad-Dholera metro rail project will soon be a reality.

The Gujarat government has once agains approached the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for a modified detailed project report (DRP),as it wishes to extend the network to new residential areas being developed.

The Rs 10,000-crore project will connect railway stations (Kalupur,Sabarmati,Gandhigram),bus stands (Paldi,Vadaj,Income Tax),international airport and other destinations like Sachivalaya,Akshardham and Sabarmati Ashram.

It may be mentioned here that the DMRC had prepared and submitted a DRP dealing with all the aspects of the project,including the corridor selection and the impact on the environment,four years ago. The government had accepted the same in October 2004.

According to the Gujarat Urban Development Company (GUDC),the nodal agency for the project,a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for this will be set up this year,and the project will be implemented within three years from its commencement. GUDC officials said that various modes,including

public-private partnership,are being studied.

The DMRC is at present studying the impact on the cost and profitability estimates due to the various additions and modifications. It is expected to submit the revalidated report soon,officials said. The project will be developed in two phases. Initially,there will be trains at every five minutes during peak hours and every 15 minutes otherwise.

The metro service is expected to carry 40,000 passengers per hour per direction traffic . According to the government estimates,about 6.75 lakh commuters are expected to use the metro rail daily soon after its commissioning. The figure may shoot up to 17 lakh by 2031. The project will have the state-of-the-art facilities,like air-conditioned coaches,ballastless tracks,automated fare collection,parking facilities,destination indicators,GPS-based rail tracking system,and traction system among others.

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Route map
Phase I
NorthSouth Corridor: Vasna to Akshardham,a 32.65-km stretch with 31 stations
EastWest Corridor: Kalupur Junction to Thaltej,a 10.90-km stretch with 11 stations
GIFT and Airport Link: N-S link to Gujarat International Finance Tech (8.3km) and international airport (eight km)

Phase II
* Sarkhej to Indroda Circle (32.4 km)

* Vasna to Sarkhej (5.5 km)
* Sarkhej to Dholera (120 km)

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