CM Yogi Adityanath to flag off commerical run of Lucknow Metro on Sept 5

Project touted as former CM Akhilesh Yadav's dream project

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is slated to flag off a commercial run of the Lucknow Metro on September 5.

The project has progressed in record speed, making it the fastest metro project to be completed within three years of launching initial construction.

Touted to be the former Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party governments dream project, the Lucknow Metro would become fully operational a day after the trial run on September 6. 

Union Home Minister and Lucknow Member of Parliament (MP) Rajnath Singh would also be present along with CM Adityanath for the trial run that is slated for next week on Tuesday.

Previously, a trial run of the Lucknow Metro was conducted last year in November- this was inaugurated by the then chief minister of UP, Akhilesh Yadav. Commercial operations, it was said, would begin by March 26, 2017. SP was, however, defeated during the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections held earlier this year. 

Assuming office a week before the March deadline, the project got delayed under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government due to pending approvals and clearances.   

On March 30, the Research Designs & Standards Organisation (RDSO) certified the Lucknow Metro for a safe run based on the successful completion of the oscillation trials. A speed limit of up to 80 kilometres per hour (kmph) was fixed for the run.

Later on June 8, the Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) secured technical clearance from the ministry of railways and on August 14, the project got the nod for commercial operations by the commissioner of metro railway safety (CMRS).

Lucknow Metro along with Agra-Lucknow Expressway and Lucknow IT City is considered to be CM Adityanath’s pet projects that are marketed as templates of his pro-development agenda.

In the first phase of construction, the Lucknow Metro would operate in an 8.5-km-long network between Lucknow airport and the Charbagh railway station. This section is part of the 23-km-long North-South corridor having 21 stations. At the initial phase, the project has incurred a cost of around Rs 6,800 crore.

It would operate four trains on the priority route with each train having a standing capacity of 1,000 passengers, besides accommodating 186 others who can choose to sit and travel, said LMRC.

Ground work for the Lucknow Metro had started on October 2014 and the public investment board (PIB) approved the project on August 6, 2015. Later on December 23, 2015, the Union Cabinet gave its nod to operations along the North-South corridor.

In March 2016, a loan agreement for 450 million euros (about Rs 3,502 crore) was signed between the Centre and European Investment Bank (EIB) in Brussels during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Belgium.