20.1.14

Ahmedabad Metro snippets


The ambitious Ahmedabad metro rail route has fallen back on its original 2005 plan that was suggested by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). This means 85% of the route proposed in the 2005 plan would be retained and the cost of the project would be literally halved to Rs.9,000 crore.
Gandhinagar, GIFT and the city airport has been left out of the new plan for the time being. The reason given for this is that, in the first phase, the Metrorail Express Gandhinagar-Ahmedabad (MEGA) would focus on getting passengers on board and building credibility.
Gujarat finance minister Nitin Patel, who is also the head of the metro power committee, disclosed the new plan claiming that it would connect the eastern and western parts of Ahmedabad.
When compared to the October 2012 route which was 76-km long, the new 34.32-km route has reduced the need for MEGA to cross the Sabarmati river thrice, i.e., going via Paldi on an elevated corridor and by an underground line twice. The route in Ahmedabad has been reduced from 44 km to 34 km. The underground route has been reduced from 10 km to 7 km.
There has been an addition of an extra 8 km route to the original 2005 plan – from Kalupur to Vastralgam. This 8-km route will pass through New Cotton Mill, Amraiwadi, Rabari Colony and finally end at Vastragam.
The East-West corridor-—Thaltej to Vastral — is 18.21 km with 16 stations, while the North-South corridor of 16.11 km is from APMC to Motera stadium with 13 stations. There will be two special ramps—one at Shahpur and the other at New Cotton Mill on the East-West corridor — that will take the metro rail from the elevated corridor to the underground route and vice versa. 

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