Ahmedabad (Metro Rail News): Metro soon would be available to citizens of Ahmedabad as their Navratri gift. By the third week of September, the much-awaited rail services are expected to begin. The first phase of the project is almost completed, and train trials on the North-South track have begun.
The final inspection will be carried out by the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) in the coming week. On August 20, the CMRS crew is scheduled to arrive, to inspect entire stretch 40 Kms. After the completion of the inspection, the Gujarat Metro Rail Service (GMRS) will be able to get final approval for commencement of services complying to some necessary paper works.
With compliance works of CMRS expected to take up to 15-20 days, the services are likely to begin in late September as per Managing Director, GMRS S. S. Rathod. The monsoon too has affected the work. Each train must complete 320 km of trial runs before beginning genuine operations. Trial runs are now underway. The project was scheduled to be completed in 2021 but Covid lockdown and some legal hurdles delayed the project. More than Rs 12,500 crore have already been spent on the project. The train will run on elevated platforms except in the Walled City where it is underground. Kalupur, Shahpur, Gheekanta and Kankaria East are the four stations in the underground section
There are two corridors in Phase-1. Corridor-1 is from APMC to Motera stadium while Corridor-2 is from Thaltej gam to Vastral gam. Corridor -1 will have stations at Jivraj park, Rajivnagar, Shreyas, Paldi, Gandhigram, Old High Court, Usmanpura, Vijaynagar, Vadaj, Ranip, Sabarmati Railway station, AEC, Sabarmati and Motera. Corridor- II will pass through Thaltej gam, Thaltej, Doordarshan Kendra, Gurukul Road, Gujarat University, Commerce six roads, S P Stadium, Old High Court, Shahpur, Gheekanta, Kalupur Metro station, Kankaria East, Apparel Park, Amraiwadi, Rabari Colony, Vastral, Nirant Crossroads, Vastral gam.
Fair Pricing
The maximum and minimum fare for metro is expected to be fairly priced at Rs 25 and Rs 5 respectively. The prices are going to be in multiples of Rs 5. From APMC to Vastral and Motera to Apparel Park, the maximum fare in corridor I and the fare between Thaltej Gam to Vastral, Nirant Crossroads, and Vastral Gam in Corridor II would be Rs 25. The ticket prices would be Rs 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 for the various stations.
