Patna Metro: A Hassle-Free Transport System for the Ancient City of Patliputra

A Comprehensive Overview of Patna's First Metro Rail Project

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Introduction

Patna Metro is the first mass rapid transit system proposed for the capital city of Bihar, Patna. The Patna Metro Rail Corporation (PMRC), a public company established in February 2019, is developing the project. The final detailed project report for the first phase of the metro rail project was prepared by PMRC in collaboration with Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES). In February 2016 and 2019, the state and central government approved the project, respectively. The Metro Rail project’s foundation stone was laid in February 2019. The first phase of the project is scheduled to begin operations in 2024.

Need & Importance

Patna, with a population of 2.6 million, is a tier-two city. It has seen a growth in the registration of two-wheelers and cars, as well as significant urbanisation, which has resulted in increased traffic and congestion in the city. Existing public transit networks are insufficient to fulfil expanding transportation demand. Pollution from an increasing number of private vehicles needs to be addressed through the construction of new public transport infrastructure, such as metro rail. The Patna metro rail project is envisaged to minimise traffic congestion and hence the environmental impact.

Routes and Stations

Proposed route for Patna Metro
Proposed route for Patna Metro

The first phase of the Patna metro rail project is projected to be 30.91kms long, with 26 metro stations spread across two corridors. The metro will have a 1,435mm standard gauge track. Corridor 1 will run 17.78 kilometres between Danapur and Khemni Chak stations. It will have 7.01 kilometres of elevated sections, 0.31 kilometres of elevated ramp, 0.29 kilometres of ramp U-type retaining wall, and 10.17 kilometres of underground sections. The Suguna-Danapur main road, Bailey Road, Fraser Road, Patna Junction station, Mithapur bus stand road, and Patna-Sitamarhi road will all be connected by the corridor. It will include 14 metro stations, six of which will be underground and eight of which will be elevated.

Corridor 2 would be 14.2 km long and will connect Patna Junction and the New ISBT stations. It will have 7.8 kilometres of elevated portions, 0.15 kilometres of elevated ramp, 0.30 kilometres of ramp U-type retaining wall, and 5.95 kilometres of underground sections. Corridor 2 will include 12 stations, six of which will be underground and remaining six will be elevated. Fraser Road, Gandhi Maidan Road, Ashok Rajpath Road, Moin Ul Haq, Rajendra Nagar station, Kankarbagh main road, Malahi Pakri road, 90 feet road, Patna-Sitamarhi road, and Bodhgaya road will be connected by the corridor. Patna underground station and the Khemni Chak elevated station have been planned to be the proposed interchange stations. A depot near the New ISBT station will also be built as part of the metro project.

Project Infrastructure

Construction of local bus stations, car and bicycle parking and signage is proposed to improve connectivity between the metro and existing public transportation. Except for the Khemni Chak station, all elevated stations will have comparable station sizes and concourse layouts. To assist passengers in distinguishing and identifying the stations, different colours are planned for the concourse interiors of each station. The underground stations will have an upper (concourse) and lower (island platform) level. The platform width will vary according to the passenger capacity of each station, and it is expected to be at least 3m wide.

Rolling stock

The train sets chosen for the Patna metro rail project would be composed of either stainless steel or aluminium. The trains will be available in three- and six-car combinations. Each train set will have a front emergency door as well as bi-parting sliding doors that shall be electrically operated. With eight people per m2, the maximum axle load will be 16t. The maximum train length will be 129 metres. The train’s design speed is planned to be 95km/h, with an operational speed of 85km/h.

Signalling and Telecommunication

The Patna Metro project will have AFC systems, an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), and communication-based train control (CBTC). CBTC will include automatic train protection (ATP), automatic train supervision (ATS), and automatic train operation (ATO) subsystems. A fibre optics transmission system (FOTS) and an IP-multi-protocol label (IP-MPLS) transmission system, telephone exchange, mobile radio communication system, public address system, centralised clock system (GNSS synchronisation), passenger information display system (PIDS), close circuit television (CCTV), central voice recording system (CVRS), digital voice recording system (DVRS), and central fault reporting system (CFRS) will be part of the telecommunications system.

Contractors involved

The Patna Metro rail project’s general consultant is the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), which operates the Delhi Metro. The construction division of Larsen & Toubro, an Indian engineering, construction, and manufacturing organisation, was appointed in December 2021 to design and build six underground metros, a 6km twin tunnel using the Shield tunnel boring machine (TBM), a tunnel by cut and cover, and an underground ramp at Rajendra Nagar. Architectural finishing, drainage, and sanitary works from New ISBT station to Patna station are also included in the contract scope.

In September 2020, Nagarjuna Construction Company (NCC), an Indian construction firm, was awarded the contract to design and build the elevated viaduct, elevated ramp and viaduct connections to the depot, elevated ramps at five elevated stations, stabling, and viaduct extension for Corridor 1 at Khemni Chak station. The contract for constructing elevated viaducts and ramps at seven metro stations in December 2021 was awarded to a joint venture of YFC Projects, an engineering and construction services provider and Montecarlo Construction, an infrastructure development company, both based in India.

In October 2021, KEC International, an engineering procurement and construction company based in India, was contracted to perform electrical works such as the design, installation, and commissioning of receiving-cum-traction and the main auxiliary substation, as well as high-voltage cabling from the grid substation for the project. In April 2022, the company was awarded a new contract for the delivery, installation, and testing of 25kV overhead systems, 33kV ring mains, and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems for the depot and elevated and underground sections of Corridors 1 and 2.

AKS Ventures, an Indian construction services company, and Niranjan Enterprises, an Indian construction company, were awarded the contract for the supply, installation, and testing of South Bihar Power Distribution Company’s (SBPDCL) 33kV, 11kV, and low tension (LT) electrical utilities, as well as the dismantling and relocation of the high mast and streetlights in various sections of Corridors 1 and 2. Tuaman Engineering, an engineering procurement and construction firm, was chosen to carry out electrical and mechanical system work at elevated stations along the Patna metro rail project’s Corridors 1 and 2.

Summary

Patna Metro, with two lines and 24 stations, is an urban Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) being built by Patna Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (PMRCL) in Bihar’s capital and largest city, Patna. The Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the 30.91 km Patna Metro Phase 1 project was developed by RITES and approved by the state government on February 9, 2016. On September 25, 2018, the Bihar government approved the establishment of Patna Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (PMRCL) as the operator or special purpose vehicle for its implementation, and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) was appointed as the General Consultant (GC) to assist with its implementation. The project was approved by the Central Government on February 6, 2019, and PM Modi laid the foundation stone of the project on February 17, 2019.

In November 2019, the DMRC announced a revision in the project’s Detailed Project Report (DPR) and alignment of both lines, resulting in the creation of a second interchange at Khemni Chowk, the deletion of Line-1’s depot at Aitwarpur, and the addition of two new stations at Ramkrishna Nagar and Jaganpura. The project has been planned to be partially funded by a Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) official development assistance (ODA) loan. NCC began the groundwork for Patna Metro’s Phase 1 in November 2020, followed by piling for construction in December 2020. The first segment of the Patna Metro is anticipated to be completed and opened in August 2024, beyond the original August 2023 deadline. Phase 1 is scheduled to be completed by 2027.

Project Detail & System Specifications

· Operational : 0 Km

· Under Construction: 22.1 Km

· Approved: 8.8 Km

· Estimated Cost: Rs. 13,365.77 Cr

· Estimated Ridership: 2.10 Lakh/Day (2026)

· Top Speed: 80 Kmph

· Average Speed: 34 Kmph

· Track Gauge: Standard Gauge (1435 mm)

· Electrification: 25 kV, 50 Hz AC OHE

· Signalling: Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC)

Phase 1 Route Information

Line 1 (East-West Line): Danapur Cantonment to Khemni Chak

· Length: 16.86 Km

· Type: Elevated & Underground

· Elevated: 9.36 Km with 8 Stations

· Underground: 7.5 Km with 6 Stations

· Number of Stations: Fourteen

· Stations: Danapur Cantonment, Saguna More, RPS More, Patliputra (formerly IAS Colony), Rukanpura, Raja Bazar, Patna Zoo (formerly JD Women’s College), Vikas Bhawan (formerly Raj Bhavan), Vidyut Bhawan, Patna Junction (interchange), Mithapur, Ramkrishna Nagar & Jaganpur and Khemni Chak (interchange)

Line-2 (North-South Line): Patna Junction Railway Station to New ISBT

· Length: 14.05 km

· Type: Elevated & Underground

· Elevated: 6 km with 5 stations

· Underground: 8 km with 7 stations

· Number of Stations: Twelve

· Stations: Patna Junction (interchange), Akashvani (formerly Dak Bungalow), Gandhi Maidan, PMCH, Patna University, Moin Ul Haq Stadium, Rajendra Nagar, Malahi Pakri, Khemni Chak (interchange), Bhoothnath, Zero Mile and New ISBT

Fare & Ticket Prices

The fare structure, ticket categories, and rules for Patna Metro are yet to be revealed. This will be finalised closer to the start of commercial operations. Patna Metro Rail Corporation proposes to adopt cutting-edge technology for its automatic fare-collecting (AFC) system, which will support QR codes and Near Field Communication (NFC) phones.

Latest Update

The long-awaited Patna Metro Logo unveiled by CM Bihar Mr. Nitish Kumar on 7 April 2023
The long-awaited Patna Metro Logo unveiled by CM Bihar Mr. Nitish Kumar on 7 April 2023

 

Tunnelling work on the Patna Metro Rail Project began for the first time, when the first of four Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM) was dropped into the ground recently. According to media reports, the ‘Mahavir’ TBM was lowered 16 metres below the surface into the Moin-Ul-Haq metro station area.

The TBM would have a 1,494-metre drive length to the Patna University station. On February 17, 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the groundwork for the project. The project is being built in two stages and is expected to cost Rs 13,365 crore. The first corridor would connect Danapur and Mithapur, and the second will connect Patna Railway Station and New ISBT. The TBM weighs approximately 420 megatons and has been designed and built by China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Corporation Ltd (CRCHI). ‘Mahavir’ is roughly 95 metres long, with a cutting head that is around 9 metres long. The machine can bore tunnels with a diameter of 6.65 metres. The cutter head, which is responsible for breaking down rocks, is one of the machine’s several components. The front, tail, and middle shields of the machine protect it from collapsing debris and sediment. It is also outfitted with backup gantries.

Following the completion of the first phase of the corridor, the boring machines will be dropped at Gandhi Maidan and tunnel 1,400 metres towards Patna Junction. The tunnelling work is projected to take 30 months to complete. The entire route will be 14.5 kilometres long. The corridor is expected to be completed by 2025. The project is being carried out by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), with DMRC Director (Works) Daljit Singh recently requesting the staff & officials to speed up the project. Singh had been reviewing the progress of Corridor II’s four underground stations, which included Akashvani, Gandhi Maidan, PMCH, and Patna University.

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