Nagpur Metro to go broad gauge upto Bhandara, Wardha
15 Oct 2020 08:46:55
Staff Reporter :
Narkhed, Ramtek also to be connected under Rs 333.60 crore project
First such Broad Gauge Metro service in the country, claims Maha Metro
Maharashtra Cabinet, on Wednesday, gave its nod to extension of Nagpur Metro to connect cities near Nagpur with air-conditioned metro train instead of passenger train. The total Rs 333.60 crore project will connect Nagpur with Bhandara, Wardha, Ramtek and Narkhed through broad gauge network connected to Nagpur Metro network. As per Maha Metro, Nagpur-Bhandara corridor will be 59.2 kms long and will have nine stations. The 78.8 km long Nagpur Wardha corridor will have 11 stations. Nagpur-Narkhed corridor of 85.53 km will have 10 stations, and Nagpur-Ramtek corridor of 41.6 km will have six stations. The total length of these four corridors will be 265.4 km and the average station distance will be 7.5 km. The time taken by broad gauge trains in comparison to existing Indian Railways trains on these routes, will also be curtailed, claimed Maha Metro. As per the State Cabinet decision, the project will be completed in two phases.
The first phase will be completed from 2021 to 2031. The second phase will start after 2031. As the number of daily commuters from the above-mentioned places to Nagpur will increase, people will benefit. The project will have share capital of Maharashtra Government, Central Government, and Maha Metro. As per the State Cabinet decision, the responsibility of obtaining loan from KfW and making correspondence in this regard has been given to Maha Metro. KfW, the International finance agency, is financing the first phase of Maha Metro project.
It is ready to finance the Broad Gauge Metro project at a total cost of Rs 305.20 crore. For the implementation of this project, State Government has sanctioned Rs 21.30 crore and the remaining share will come from Central Government. As per the statement issued by Maha Metro on Wednesday after the State Cabinet decision, the proposal will now be sent to the Central Government for approval. The proposed Broad Gauge metro project will be the first such service in the country, claimed Maha Metro. The main objective of this project is to utilise the existing infrastructure of Indian Railways by providing air-conditioned, fast, reliable and comfortable service between Nagpur and four satellite cities. The Broad Gauge metro project will act as feeder service for Nagpur Metro, thus reducing dependence on private vehicles and transport services. It will also help in reducing traffic congestion and road accidents and pollution.
The project will reduce travel time between Nagpur and the four satellite cities mentioned above. Maha Metro trains run at 120 kmph. Initially, there will be four trains to connect the four locations, and this number will be gradually increased to eight.
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Indian Railways, Maharashtra Government, and Maha Metro on July 16, 2018. Devendra Fadnavis, the then Chief Minister; Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister; and Piyush Goyal, Railway Minister, were present. Anil Deshmukh, Home Minister, issued a statement on Wednesday evening and expressed confidence that the development of Narkhed and Katol areas would get a boost with the Broad Gauge Metro connectivity between Nagpur and Narkhed.
The Credit Game Soon after the State Cabinet decision, the political game for taking credit for the Broad Gauge Metro project began. Anil Deshmukh, Home Minister of Maharashtra and senior leader of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), issued a statement. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in 2018 for the launch of Broad Gauge Metro to reduce traffic congestion through Nagpur city. “But,” he added, “there were several flaws in this agreement. Also, the erstwhile Government had not obtained necessary permission of the State Cabinet for the project, with regard to Central Government. With the proper approval of the State Cabinet today, all the problems in the project have been removed.” For the past several years, there have been calls for some cities to be connected to Nagpur Metro. Deshmukh stated that he followed up the matter with Uddhav Thackeray, Chief Minister.
These efforts have attained fruition with State Cabinet on Wednesday, he added. He stated that the project would provide a new boost to the region. Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, also stated that he had come up with the idea of starting Broad Gauge Metro from Nagpur and connecting an area in the radius of about 100 km. “Today, these efforts have met with success,” he added, thanking Uddhav Thackeray, Chief Minister; Ajit Pawar, Deputy Chief Minister; Eknath Shinde, Urban Development Minister, and the State Cabinet. The Broad Gauge Metro would reduce travel time between Nagpur and Wardha to 35 minutes. Khapri, Ajni, and Nagpur railway stations will be integrated with the nearest metro station for inter-change, Gadkari added.
The detailed project report of this project was approved by the Railway Board in 2019. It was sent to the State Government due to some shortcomings in and funding arrangement. The tracks, signals and stations of Central Railway will be used for the Broad Gauge Metro. The metro train will stop at each station for about 1 to 1.5 minutes like Mumbai local.