Srinagar Metro project is set to be thrown open in the year 2025, with the aim to provide relief to commuters growing tired of traffic jams and unavailability of public transport on key routes.
Jammu and Kashmir administration has finally set the deadline for the completion of the much-awaited Metrolite project in Srinagar.
“All phases of the project will be completed in four years,” said an official document.
Metrolite project, which is being executed by RITES Ltd. will cost around Rs 4892 crore.
Srinagar Mass Rapid Transit Corporation and Srinagar Smart city will also look after various aspects of the Metrolite project to prevent its overlapping with vehicular traffic. “The project has various technicalities, which need to be overlooked. From environmental aspects to security, the project has to be free from any flaw,” said an official.
Stations and Corridors:
As per the official document, the first phase of the project will have two corridors and 24 stations.
The first corridor spread over 12.5 kilometers will be from Indira Nagar to HMT. “The second corridor with equal length will be from Hazuribagh to Osmanabad. Both corridors will have 12 stations each,” the document said.
The document said that around 491 kanals of land would be acquired for the project. Of which, 12.76 hectares is state land, 11.85 hectares of private land, and 0.24 hectares of central government land.
The alignment of the Metrolite is mostly through the roads and at the time of construction of the pier, the barricading will be at 8 meter on the road. “After construction, the viaduct width will be 7 meter and the pier dia will be 2.20 meters after construction,” the document said.
Features of the Metro:
Nothing in Kashmir is done without a eye on the security concerns, the Srinagar Metro will also follow suit.
“There will be security installations along the alignment of the metro. General security steps regarding the Metrolite have been taken into account,” the document said.
The document said the Metrolite will be equipped with a view cutter and bulletproof shield “to make it a secure place for the passengers.”
“There will be the use of view cutter and bulletproof shields in the areas with security installation. It has been clarified by RITES that the inclusion will be made at the Detailed Design Stage during implementation,” it said.
Integration Into Existing Transport System:
As per the document, the project will have a complete Multi-Modal Integration (MMI) with the existing transport services in the city like buses, railway, and water transport.
“As part of MMI, the Metrolite system has been integrated with all major passenger modes and nodes including proposals for NMT (pedestrian, bicycle-sharing) fare and information physical and operation integration,” it said.
“The bus services are already integrated with Metrolite. There will be a Metrolite station near the bus stand and in the case of the railway station there will be feeder connectivity like buses in phase-1 from the Metrolite station to railway station as well as to airport,” the document added.
Earlier this month, the divisional commissioner Kashmir P K Pole chaired a meeting to deliberate over the entire idea of Metrolite project, its alignment, land acquisition, system parameters, alternative routes for traffic, stabling depots, shifting of utilities, multi-model system linkages, and integration of bus stand, cycle stand, and rickshaw stand beside footpath up-gradation.