Uttarakhand to launch MetroNeo system for Dehradun-Rishikesh-Haridwar

Dehradun, India (Urban Transport News): After falling in the plan of metro first, then ropeway in the capital city Dehradun, now the preparations for running the Metro Neo system have been completed. The Uttarakhand Metro Rail Corporation (UkMRC) has prepared a detailed project report (DPR) suggesting the MetroNeo system for Dehradun, Rishikesh and Haridwar.

In fact, on the proposal of UkMRC, the government first declared Dehradun, Rishikesh and Haridwar as metropolitan areas in November 2017. After this, a survey was conducted to run the metro rail in two corridors (ISBT to Rajpur and FRI to Raipur) in Dehradun. Haridwar-Rishikesh was placed in the second phase. After this, the plan was changed and there was a discussion on running the ropeway here. Meanwhile, the central government issued new guidelines for running eco-friendly Metro Neo systems in small cities. According to the new guidelines, the Uttarakhand Metro Rail Corporation (UKMRC) sent a proposal to run the Metro Neo system as an alternate mode of public transportation in Dehradun to the Center.

Recently, in a review meeting held on March 9, 2021, by Urban Development Department, UkMRC Managing Director Jitendra Tyagi said that the DPR of the MetroNeo system has been prepared. He said that Metro Neo will be able to carry traffic load by 2051.

Urban Development Minister Banshidhar Bhagat said that only survey work has been going on in this direction for a long time. Therefore, the work of Metro Neo should be expedited, explaining that apart from Dehradun to the Center, cities like Gorakhpur, Prayagraj, Jammu, Srinagar, Rajkot, Baroda, Coimbatore, Bhiwadi have sent proposals for Metro Neo.

UkMRC has also started work on running either local trains or Metro Neo system between Haridwar and Rishikesh on the instructions of the government. For this, talks are being held with the Railway Ministry. The UkMRC plans to either double the railway track or lease the railway land for 30 years to prepare a separate track for the Metro Neo.

In the review meeting officials said that the cost of Metro Neo is much less than that a normal metro. Currently, the cost per kilometer to build an elevated metro is Rs 300-350 crores. The same cost reaches Rs 600-800 crore in the underground. While the cost for Metro Neo or Metro Lite is only up to 200 crores. Since it will cost less, passengers will also get the gift of cheap travel in it. In this, the capacity of the passengers will be less than the normal metro, for this, a dedicated corridor will be prepared off the road.