Nashik (Metro Rail News): Maharashtra cabinet on August 28, 2019, has approved Nashik’s first-of-its-kind Mass Rapid Transit System “Metro Neo” Which will not run on metal tyres (technically known as rails), but instead have rubber tyres. It help in better connectivity across the city. Like all lines, the corridor will be elevated. The Metro’s swanky coaches will operate on electricity and battery and ply on elevated viaducts with state-of-the-art terminals.
The project will be executed at an estimated cost of ₹2,100 crore and will be jointly implemented by Maha Metro, City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) and Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) said Mr. Brijesh Dixit, managing director, Maha Metro. The cabinet approved two corridors Shramik Road to Nashik Road, which is 18.45km long, and a 9.45km-long Gangapur to Mumbai Naka corridor in Nashik.
According to Dixit, the “unique” Metro in Nashik is the first in the world where electricity-run coaches will be plying under the mass transport system. He said the concept was designed to make the project “financially viable” in the tier-II city. “This has not been done anywhere. The coaches of Metro Neo will have the comfort of the Metro coaches, but will run on tyres and not rails. We had to come up with a new model to make it financially viable,” Dixit told HT. The Metro will have a capacity of carrying 8,000 commuters during peak hours.
Ramanathan Subramanium, executive director of Maha Metro, said the coaches will run on overhead electrical cables (OHEs). “The elevated structures will have basic infrastructure like bus stops. The routes are planned in a way that it will connect important locations including railway stations, MIDC, etc. As the coaches will run on tyres, it will come down through a ramp, and operate around the city too as a feeder route,” he said.
Metro Neo Explained Video
The system could be upgraded to light rail transit (LRT) system subsequently, when the ridership goes up. “We can put rails on the viaduct and get new brakes to run on it,” Dixit said
