Did you dream, after hearing news of an upcoming second mini train at the Kankaria lake, of not having to queue up near the railway station in this heat? There is some disappointing news. You might have to wait a little longer to ride the second train at Kankaria, as the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) is expecting to start operating it only by August.
A senior AMC official apprised of the development says the civic body has placed an order for a second mini train with the same UK-based company that manufactured the Atal Express. "We have placed the order and paid the company Rs3.5 crore. If all goes as planned, the train is expected to arrive in Ahmedabad by July-end. So, we plan to launch the second mini train at Kankaria by August," said the official.
The official said that they would be able to start its operations immediately after the train is delivered, as they do not need to set up different infrastructure within the lake premises.
"We will have to come up with a small station from where people can board the train, and buy a ticket window. While the Atal Express will chug from its current station, the other mini train would start from near Nagina wadi or Pushpakunj circle," said the official. Co-ordination between the trains will be worked out in a way that both start from their stand simultaneously and complete the rounds at the same time.
The AMC decided to start a second mini train, looking at the success of the Atal Express and consequent public demand. The Atal Express was inaugurated during the first Kankaria carnival in 2008. Since its launch, the Atal Express has attracted some 11.3 lakh passengers and earned Rs2.01 crore in income for the civic body.
