IIT-Kanpur to get metro rail connectivity

The cost of Kanpur Metro project estimated at Rs 13,700 cr

The premier Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT-K), on the outskirts of Kanpur City, would soon be connected to modern metro rail system.

Its cost estimated at over Rs 13,700 crore, the Kanpur Metro Rail project would be the second metro rail project in Uttar Pradesh to be completed if things roll out as planned.

While, the Lucknow Metro Rail projects is already underway and is projected to start trial runs for phase I by December 2016, the detailed project report (DPR) of the proposed Kanpur Metro Rail has also been prepared.

The state government is hoping that the work on Kanpur Metro could start as early as January 2016.

According to DPR, the Kanpur Metro would run on standard gauge track and have a Peak Hour Peak Direction Traffic (PHPDT) of 16,800 passengers by 2021 for the 23.785 km long IIT Kanpur to Naubasta.

The two corridors of Kanpur Metro Rail have been estimated to run about 32 km. The first corridor that spreads from IIT Kanpur to Naubasta covers almost 24 km with an elevated stretch of about 15 km and an underground stretch of a little under 9 km.

The second corridor consisting of 8.6 km length from Agriculture University to Barra covers an elevated section of 4.19 km and an underground section of 4.41 km.

The Kanpur Metro Rail project has been planned to cater the city public transport needs for the next 50 years.

The DPR of Kanpur Metro Rail project was presented formally to the state chief secretary Alok Ranjan by RITES and Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) here recently.

A total of 22 metro stations have been planned (14 elevated; 8 underground) for the IIT Kanpur to Naubasta corridor, while 9 stations have been proposed for the Agriculture University to Barra corridor.

Earlier, UP had appointed LMRC as coordinator for preparation of DPR for Metro in four cities viz. Kanpur, Varanasi, Meerut and Agra, while RITES, a central government undertaking, was engaged for preparing DPRs.

The estimated cost for the IIT Kanpur to Naubasta corridor stands at Rs 9, 840 crore at August 2015 prices (including taxes and duties), while the estimated cost for the Agriculture University to Barra corridor comes to Rs 3, 881 crore.