With the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, the government is moving ahead with the plans to development projects to Srinagar including metro trains. The plans for the Srinagar Metro have been finalised with the work expected to start in 2020.
The Detailed Project Report (DPR) for Srinagar Metro is ready with the plans to run two corridors of 12.5 kilometres each. With the population of Srinagar projected to rise to 37 lakh by 2044, the metro plan has been prepared keeping in mind that this will be the primary mode of transport in the near future.
Each corridor of Srinagar metro will have 12 stations each with the total cost expected to be around Rs 5,000 crore. Former Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) chief 'Metro Man' E Sreedharan has been appointed the project head.
Speaking to Zee Media, Srinagar Deputy Commissioner Shahid Choudhary said, "We are working for a Sringara of future. The population of Srinagar will increase substantially in the coming years for which we need metro as a mode of transport. We will start the operation by 2024. Around 25 youth will get jobs for per kilometre of the metro. The bidding process will begin soon.
The Srinagar Metro will be entirely elevated. Both token and smart cards will be available for commuters. At first, 3-coach metro will be operated with each coach having a capacity of 250 people.
While metro will run for 17 hours a day in summers, it will run for 14 hours during winters. For further connectivity, Srinagar Metro will operate 35 mini feeder buses.
For the security of the metro, every station will have CCTV, bag scanner, Bomb Detection Equipment, wireless sets and sniffer dogs etc.
The first metro corridor will be between HMT Junction in the city and Indiranagar. 12 stations on this route will be HMT Junction, Parimpora, Bus Stand, Qamarwari, Gazarzoo, Rathpora, Batmaloo, Secretariat, Lal Chowk, Munshi Bagh, Sonwar and Indiranagar.
The other corridor between Osmanabad and Hazoori Bagh will have stations at Osmanabad, Hazratbal Crossing, Soura, Skims, Nalbal Bridge, Mill Stop, Hawal Chowk, Jama Masjid, Khaniyar, Nowpora, Munshi Bagh and Hazoori Bagh.
