Nagpur: As the Nagpur Metro is speeding towards its first trial from Mihan to Airport, plans are afoot to extend the track till Jamtha to accomodate the passengers travelling up to the stadium.
Mahametro has written to VCA and Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) for this purpose.
Brijesh Dixit, managing director of Mahametro, said that the agency owned the stretch of land from Mihan depot to about 400 metre up to the stadium. “Three stations can come up in this 3km long stretch. We will bear the cost of the extended track. If MADC agrees to bear the cost of two stations and VCA pays for the station near its stadium then they can be included in the first phase itself. Otherwise, this portion will be built when the phase II of Nagpur Metro is built. This will take some time. However, we have already started preparing the detailed project report (DPR) for this extension,” he told the media.
Dixit further said that if the Metro was extended till the stadium then traffic congestion during cricket matches will become a thing of the past. “During other times, the residents of nearby villages will use the Metro. People working in Butibori, MIDC can travel up to Jamtha by Metro and then switch on to other modes of transport,” he added.
Commenting on the phase II of Nagpur Metro, Dixit said that RITES’ feasibility study had found that there was sufficient traffic for Automotive Square to Kamptee stretch, Kapsi to Prajapati Nagar to Chhatrapati Nagar (along Inner Ring Road), and from Lokmaya Nagar to Hingna. “The volume of traffic will also be sufficient for extending it up to Wadi and from Inner Ring Road to Hudkeshwar,” he added.
RITES is preparing the detailed project report (DPR) of phase II. It will have to be approved by state cabinet, Planning Commission and union cabinet before works starts on it.
Turning to Phase I’s trial run, the Mahametro chief said that civil aviation ministry had cleared the file for appointing the commissioner of rail safety of Central Railway’s central circle as Nagpur Metro’s safety commissioner. “The letter will be issued soon. We are going ahead with the preparations for trial run. We will first intimate Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO) of Indian Railways, which will forward the proposal to Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety.”
Commenting on the Kamptee Road tunnel, Dixit said that on directions of union transport minister Nitin Gadkari, RITES was trying to find out whether the length of the tunnel could be shortened.
“Currently, it is proposed from Zero Mile to Kadbi Square and the cost is Rs600 crore. National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is reluctant to pay so much for the project so we have asked our consultant RITES to revise the design,” he added.
Mahametro will build a double decker flyover from Kadbi Square to Automotive Square. NHAI’s consent is awaited for this project. The lower level will have the flyover while the upper level will have the Metro viaduct. It will be similar to the underconstruction Wardha Road double decker flyover.
