RITES recommends 64.3-km metro rail network for Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula

Chandigarh, India (Metro Rail Today): In the latest feasibility study report, submitted to the UT administration on 24th November 2022, Indian Railways' consultnacy firm RITES Ltd has proposed a 64.3-km metro rail network spread across Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula.

According to the report, the metro rail system is proposed to be implemented in two phases. The first phase consists of three corridors totalling of 44.5 km, including 16 km underground, in Chandigarh, while in the second phase, the network will be extended to Mohali and Panchkula.

The metro rail project was first proposed for Chandigarh in 2009 and the detailed project report (DPR) was prepared in 2012 after spending Rs 1.5 crore. Surveys were conducted and the first phase was to begin in 2013. But in 2014, Member of Parliament (MP) Kirron Kher opposed it, stating that it will uproot the city, before it was ultimately rejected by the Ministry of Hhome Affairs in 2017.

After years in cold storage, the MRTS plans were revived in August 2021, with the UT administration deciding to go in for a fresh comprehensive mobility plan.

With 14 lakh registered vehicles among a population of over 12 lakh, Chandigarh has the highest density of vehicles per household in the country, leading to traffic congestion and snarls. In addition to these, over two lakh vehicles on interstate routes cross the city daily.

The comprehensive mobility plan, allotted to RITES in December last year, is aimed at resolving this burgeoning problem.

RITES was tasked with updating the data of its 2009 report, preparing the plan as per the latest guidelines of the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and suggesting the best-suited mass rapid transit system (MRTS) for the tricity.

RITES, through a survey, had also found that around 88% people in the tricity were ready to forego travelling by their private vehicles if a robust MRTS was available, even if it entailed paying more.