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Gurgaon's Rapid Metro starts its run on Thursday - India - DNA
Thousands of people who live or work in Gurgaon will be able to easily access parts of the metropolis when the city's very own metro begins operations from Thursday. Built at a cost of Rs1,100 crore, the 5.5km line runs from Delhi Metro's Sikanderpur station to DLF Phase III and has four intervening stations. Commuters will be able to use the same tokens and smart cards that work on the Delhi Metro.
"With Rapid Metro becoming operational, it will provide a formidable support to the Delhi Metro and to the lakhs of people travelling to Gurgaon," said Sanjeev Rai, managing director, IL&FS.
"This is a matter of pride for all those who live in Gurgaon."
The metro is the country's first to have been built on the public-private partnership model. The Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) provided the land and the infrastructure was built by Rapid Metro, a partnership between IL&FS and construction major DLF, which built the city's largest commercial complex, Cyber City. The project has been leased to Rapid Metro for 99 years.
Even though the first metro line will run mostly through DLF's complexes, it will still help decongest the city, which lacks a public transport network. In the first year, the line is expected to carry more than one lakh daily commuters and take 60,000 vehicles off the roads.
"The metro will certainly help me as I will no longer have to shell out Rs 30 for a short auto ride from Sikenderpur station to my office, which is about 1.5 km away," said software engineer Chandan Singh, who works near Udyog Vihar phase 4.
"Given that Gurgaon doesn't have much by way of public transport, even the short distance metro line will help those who come to work in places like Cyber City, and Udyog Vihar," said Sudhir Kapoor, Secretary General, DLF City Resident Welfare Association.
Many feel that the metro line will give a fillip to DLF's projects in the city as better connectivity can be leveraged to push up commercial and residential property rates. "The metro will certainly help those working in Cyber City but I wonder how many Gurgaon residents will actually benefit. It will also strengthen DLF's grip on the city's property market," said a Gurgaon real estate consultant who did not want to be named.
The journey
2008 is when work began on Rapid Metro Rail Gurgaon
Rs1,100 crore spent to built first phase
5.5km metro line from Sikenderpur to DLF Phase III
6 stations on first line; Sikanderpur, Phase-II, Belvedere Park, Cyber City, Moulsari Avenue and Phase-III
3-coach trains will be able to carry a maximum of 800 passengers
13 minutes to cover distance of 5.1 km at average speed of 30 km/h
At 6:05 am, the metro will make its first run; the last one at 12:20 am
1,00,000 plus commuters expected to travel by metro daily in the first year
90,000 tonnes carbon emissions will be reduced from city's atmosphere due to the metro
Second phase
Rapid Metro's second phase will connect Sikanderpur to Sectors 55-56
The 7-km line is expected to cost Rs 2,100 crore to build
Work on the line has started and is likely to be completed by July 2015
Next stop
Rapid Metro Rail Gurgaon has roped in Vodafone, Micromax and IndusInd Bank to brand three of its six metro stations on the city's first metro line.
"The reason is purely commercial. Stations have been named after these brands," said a Rapid Metro official, who did not want to be named. "These companies will maintain the stations as well."
According to the agreements, Belvedere Park station will be called Vodafone Belvedere Park station, Cyber City will be called IndusInd Cyber City station and Moulsari Avenue will be called Micromax Moulsari Avenue station for the next five years.
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