We will make Metro journey clean, green, safe, secure, energy-efficient and fast for the people of Lucknow, says Kumar Keshav, Managing Director, Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation, in an interaction with Elets News Network (ENN)
Please give us a brief about functioning of the Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC).
To strengthen and argument the transport infrastructure of the city with a holistic multi-modal transport system, the Government of Uttar Pradesh has decided to implement Lucknow Metro Rail Project as an integrated mass public transit system that meets the mobility and accessibility needs of the people of Lucknow. With this objective in mind, a special purpose vehicle by the name of Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) was formed in November 25, 2013.
We are currently working on the first phase of Lucknow Metro, which is going to cover approximately 23km North–South stretch (from Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport to Munshi Pulia). Construction work on the first phase of the project commenced on September 27, 2014. The government wants to first complete the eightkm stretch between Transport Nagar and Charbagh. We can also undertake similar projects in other parts of the State in future.
What is the size of the project and when can the people of Lucknow expect the first operational Metro train?
It is expected to get completed by December 2016. The total cost of the first phase is estimated at Rs 6,880 crore. The first phase, apart from the 23km stretch, will also have 11km corridor from Charbagh to Vasant Kunj and that will worked on in the later part of the phase. There are two more phases that will follow. This 34km of the first phase alone will not be able to take care of the transport needs of the city, therefore, lot more is going to be offered to Lucknow commuters. We are expecting to complete the 8km priority section by December 2016. The Metro project is highly technical in nature. Before the actual project goes live, three-four months of trial is required to fix safety and signalling issues. At least, the trial will commence from December 2016 and people can board the train from April 2017.
What measures have been taken for safety and security of travellers?
Safety of travellers is of prime importance to us. Conventionally, the train works on a 9-tier system, according to the Indian Railways systems. But it’s not the case with Metro. The Metro will have much higher frequency. We are planning to run Metro service with a halt at every 4-5 minutes, so we have to go for a very safe system for signalling. We are going for Communication Based Train Control System (CBTC), which is widely accepted world over for highspeed Metros. It will have all features of automatic protection, automatic control and operations. In other words, the driver is there practically for only closing the doors and for emergency stoppages. That much fail-safe system is getting incorporated, and we will give safe and punctual transport system to the people. In addition to this, we will also have all other measures like fire extinguishers, fire safety systems, proper evacuation and all other mandatory safety measures.
For Security reasons, we are adopting the Delhi Metro model, under which Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has been deployed. We will have the same model here with all scanners and material baggage checking systems. All systems in Metro will be fully fenced to prevent any interference or any chance of infiltration from anywhere. This is how the train assets will be maintained in a secure environment.
How, according to you, the Metro is going to change the face of Lucknow city?
Lucknow Metro will be a state-of-the-art modern transport system. People would be able to travel with the best available facilities at the stations like lifts, escalators, modern ticketing system, automated fare collection system, smart card readers and many other such facilities. We will bring the system with least possible waiting time for the people by introducing latest technical tools. We will make the journey clean, safe, secure, energy-efficient and fast for the people at large.