Due to employment opportunities and other facilities, cities always attract a large amount of population. But, with an increase in population in almost every city, the existing infrastructure for public commuting is becoming insufficient and obsolete. Taking pro-active measures to resolve this problem is the need of the hour. Uttar Pradesh, which is the most populous state in India and has an increasingly urban population, is heading in this direction for better connectivity with Metros. On 4th Oct 2016, Honorable Chief Minister Shri Akhilesh Yadav, would lay the foundation of the upcoming metro project in Kanpur.
The work on this ambitious project would start right after the inauguration ceremony and is expected to be completed by 2021. The total estimated cost for this project is Rs. 17,900 crore. The detailed project report for the Kanpur Metro has been already submitted to the state government. Kanpur Development Authority has been the nodal agency for this DPR and the planning work had already started since March 2015.
Some of the key highlights for the proposed Kanpur Metro are as follows:
- The Kanpur Metro will run on two routes:
- IIT Kanpur to Naubasta (23.8 km) having 22 stations.
- Agriculture University to Barra-8 (8.6 km) having 5 stations.
- The forecasted traffic in the number of daily trips for the given routes:
- IIT Kanpur to Naubasta- 6.59 in 2021(train frequency-14/hr), 9.33 by 2041(train frequency-17/hr).
- Agriculture University to Barra- 2.33 in 2021(train frequency-9/hr), 4.17 in 2041 (train frequency-16/hr).
- Eight typical designs have been suggested for the stations which include the elevated, underground and the interchange stations. These stations would also have other facilities such as parking, feeder bus services, public bicycle sharing and pedestrian facilities like footpaths etc.
- An emphasis has also been lead on inter-nodal integral integration and passenger dispersal facilities for seamless passenger movement across the stations. 16 lakh sq-km of property development having residential, institutional and commercial facilities has also been proposed to make the project financially viable.
- Effective provisions for handling emergency situations have been planned as per the 'Disaster Management Act, 2005'.
- Standard disabled friendly features would be present across all the stations and would be equipped with security measures like CCTV cameras, baggage scanners, metal detectors, bomb detection, wireless sets, sniffer dogs.
- It would work on the latest technology using Communication Based Train Control System (CBTC), Integrated system with Optical fibre Transmission system and Central Voice Recording System (CVRS).
- The Automatic Fare Collection System would enable the passengers to recharge their travel cards using cash, debit/credit cards and Net Banking/Web Portals etc.
The planning for the Kanpur Metro, as it can be seen from the above points, is really acute as well as comprehensive. It covers all the required aspects of the technicalities, finance, frequency, capacity, administration and operations.
Having undertaken a lot of development initiatives under his regime of the past 4 and half years, UP CM Akhilesh Yadav has proved his intention as well as the capability for the development of Uttar Pradesh. When it comes to the latest technology and development, UP CM has always tried that the common people of Uttar Pradesh can avail the benefits of the modern advancements. The Kanpur Metro project would be a great step to make the city at par with the most developed cities. Metro will not only reduce the commuting hassles of the passengers but also increase business and employment opportunities, ultimately contributing towards the growth of Uttar Pradesh.