Week 01, 2019: News highlights of the week

Dear Readers,

Good morning and warm greetings from Urban Transport News.

Here are a weekly round-up and news highlights from Urban Transport News between 01 January and 06 January 2019 (Week-01). To read detailed news, please click on headlines:-

Mamta Shah takes charge of CEO & Managing Editor of Urban Transport News with effect from January 1, 2019

The Urban Transport News, a leading global media firm in urban mobility domain, has announced the appointment of a renowned and experienced public transport journalist, blogger, youth entrepreneur, social activist and key opinion leader, Mrs. Mamta Shah, as its new Managing Editor & Chief Executive Officer.

6 km stretch of Kolkata East-West Metro set for rollout in April this year

The Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) is all set to open 6 km long stretch connecting Howrah with Salt Lake’s Sector V through 6 metro stations via underwater tunnels below the Hooghly riverbed. The section between Sector V and Salt Lake Stadium will be opened in this year. However, the entire 16.6 km metro rail network will likely to be operational by the year 2021. This corridor will also connect Kolkata's two major Railway stations Sealdah and Howrah.

Chaitanya Prasad takes charge of Managing Director for Patna Metro

The additional charge of Managing Director of Patna Metro Rail Corporation Limited (PMRCL) has been given to Chaitanya Prasad who is the principal secretary of the development and housing department and the principal secretary of the Department of Parliamentary Affairs. It is being believed that with the appointment of Managing Director, the Patna Metro Rail project will get a boost.

West Bengal Govt decides to lodge FIR against Kolkata Metro Management

The West Bengal government has decided to take legal action against Kolkata Metro Railway Management for the fire in the metro corridor. This decision was taken at a high-level meeting in Kolkata Police Headquarters Lalabazar on Friday.

Centre approves 30.38 km long Faridabad-Gurugram Metro corridor

The new year has brought good news for Faridabad residents. The Central Government has approved the ambitious metro rail project between Faridabad-Gururgram, giving a New Year gift to the people of Faridabad. However, the operation of the Metro rail on this route will start in 2021. This information was given by the Union Minister of State for social justice and empowerment and Faridabad MP Krishan Pal Gurjar on Monday in a press conference.

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis approves Nagpur Metro Rail Project Phase-II

The Maharashtra Chief Minister Shri Devendra Fadnavis has approved the phase-II of Nagpur Metro Rail Project on the very first day of the year 2019. The estimated project cost of phase-II is Rs.11,216 crores and the total length of this project will be 48.3 km while the total length of Phase-I is 39.95 km.

MEGA Metro reconstitutes as Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation (GMRC) Ltd

The board of directors of Metro-Link Express for Gandhinagar And Ahmedabad (MEGA) Company Limited on Saturday meeting, has approved the change of the company name from MEGA Company Limited to Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation (GMRC) Limited. MEGA Company Managing Director Dr. I.P. Gautam shared this information after the board meeting. The new name of the company has also been updated on its website at the beginning of the new year.

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal conducts a pre-launching inspection of Train 18

Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has conducted a pre-launching inspection of Train 18 on Wednesday in New Delhi. He was accompanied by new Chairman Railway Board VK Yadav. Goyal said that his ministry is preparing a future-oriented plan for the development and modernization of Indian railways. For this, there will be a framework of comprehensive expansion and modernization of railway infrastructure along with the development of trains like Train 18.

Chennai to launch Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) soon

The Tamilnadu Governor has approved the formation of a unified transport authority to integrate multi-modal transportation systems in the Chennai. This information was shared by the Governor himself at the Tamilnadu Assembly on Wednesday. The Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) Act and its relevant rules will be notified on January 16, 2019.

India will need nearly 1600 aircrafts worth $224 billion in the next 20 years

India's aviation sector is fast moving forward in the world. It is said in a statement that in the next 20 years India will need about 1600 more aircraft. The Indian government's initiative UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagarik) scheme is to provide further momentum to the aviation sector. Under the scheme, the government has tried to make an ordinary person fly in the country as well. According to estimates, the vast aviation market side is stepping into the Indian aviation sector will need to buy planes of 224 billion dollars over the next 20 years.

Rly Minister holds high-level meeting with entire Railway Board, GM and DRMs

Minister of Railways & Coal, Piyush Goyal held a high-level review meeting with the entire Railway Board, all General Manager of Zonal Railways & Divisional Railway Managers of all the 68 Railway divisions yesterday on 3rd January’ 2019 at Rail Bhawan.  All DRMs were linked through Video Conferencing.

CM Rawat approves light rail transit project in Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat gave his approval on the recommendations of Light Rail Transit (LRT) system in Uttarakhand. Similar to the metro train, but low-cost Light Rail Transit (LRT) system will be landed in the outer areas like Nepali Farm, Chhidwarka, Mohkampur in Dehradun area.

Thanking you,

With regards,
Editorial Team
Urban Transport News
Tel: +91 9716454505
E-mail: editor@urbantransportnews.com