Guwahati to have metro rail service soon

Centre approves the metro rail proposal of the state, okays Rs 25 cr to carry out feasibility study

Guwahati city, the gateway of North-East, will soon have metro rail service. The Centre has approved the metro rail proposal of the state government and has sanctioned Rs. 25 crore to carry out a feasibility study, informed Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi here today.

"I am happy to inform you that our dream to have metro rail will soon be materialised as the centre has approved the proposal," Gogoi said.

The total project cost has been estimated to be around Rs. 14,000 crore and would be implemented in three phases. The first phase will connect Guwahati Airport, in the west, with Narengi, in the east. In the second phase, the metro project will connect Paltan Bazar, in central Guwahati, with Khanapara, the entry point into the city in the east. The third phase will again connect Khanapara with Jalukbari, another entry point into the city in the west.

Gogoi said the three phases of the metro project will cover a total distance of 65 km and the first phase was expected to be completed in next 5 to 6 years.

"We will now prepare the DPR (detailed project report) which will roughly take around a year. I have been told that by next five to six years, the first phase will be ready," the chief minister said.

However Gogoi added that inclement weather during the rainy season might put brakes in timely completion of the project.  He also hinted that in future the metro project, which is a part of the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS), will be extended to cover the nearby townships of Guwahati.

The state government had earmarked a sum of Rs. 1,800 crore in the budget 2013-14 for implementing the metro rail project in Guwahati. "A Metro Rail Project can go a long way in providing safe and fast transport for Guwahati. We are taking up with the Central government for initiating a feasibility study and detailed project report for the same," was what Gogoi had said while presenting the last budget.

The Assam government, said Gogoi, was also serious to develop the river way to ease traffic congestion in the Guwahati city.

The government will also engage a institute from Gujarat to suggest ways and means to ease traffic the city, besides charting a road-map for urban planning.