Jaipur metro feasibility study begins

The possibility of a metro rail transit system (MRTS) for the Pink City will be evaluated over the next couple of weeks. The work on the feasibility report began on Wednesday, with a travel demand survey initiated from the Walled City area. The future of the metro rail project for Jaipur will largely depend on the outcome of this survey. The previous studies on a suitable mass transit model for the city have not been favourable for the metro train project. As the bus rapid transit system (BRTS) comes under review once again, doubts are also being expressed over the success of metro rail transit system . However, the urban development department, which has shown a renewed interest in the project has asked the Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC) to prepare a feasibility study. The corporation has outsourced the survey work to a US-based consultancy. A two-member team from a US-based infrastructure and transport consultancy company visited the busy areas of the walled city to observe the traffic trends and marked points, where observation activities will start from Thursday. The consultants, however, feel it is still early to comment on the future of the metro project, but said that such a mega urban transit system is a necessity in every big city. “We are primarily looking at the travel pattern of the city dwellers. We have visited various areas in the city, which witness high traffic and have marked out various locations, including bus stops, to be observed during the study,” a senior member of the consultancy team said on Wednesday.