Title - From camel cart to metro rail project

Jaipur Metro, the youngest metro in the country, is all set to usher in a new era in public transport in Rajasthan. It also has the distinction of being constructed in shortest period of time.The trial run of the ambitious urban transport project is expected to begin by the end of this month.  Keeping in tune with the time and a vision to provide a comfortable mode of travel to the commuting public in the city free of congestion and traffic jam, the project opens the doors for world class travel aspirations of the people in other cities as well.The Rs 9732 crore project will prove to be a milestone in the history of the state in mass transport. The state that once used camel cart for public transport has seen rapid strides in travel and transport over the years.  It has been making steady progress in road, rail and air travel but metro rail would stand out as a special gift to the people of the pink city which is growing leaps and bounds. The project was launched as part of making ‘Jaipur a world class city’.

The 9.7 km-long first phase of the project that is nearing completion is an east-west corridor. But as tunnelling through the congested old city would have delayed the project, it was subdivided into phases 1(a) and (b). The 9.5 km phase 1(a), comprising an elevated track stops short of entering the walled city. Phase 1(b) will be taken up thereafter, an underground stretch of 2.3 km.

Fastest construction

The agreement for the project was signed on August 5, 2010, with a target of June 2013, leaving the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation which is implementing the project with just 34 months for planning, survey, award of contracts, construction and commissioning of the line. Officials say work on this corridor is being completed in a record time of just over two years, the fastest construction of any Metro system after the one in Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

Targeting a ridership of two lakh passengers per day by 2016, Jaipur Metro promises to fill the public transport void in the city. According to its estimates, Jaipur Region, with its present estimated population of 4.45 million including an employee population of 15.55 lakh, has a travel demand of 36 lakh passenger carried every day with 3.6 lakh during peak hour.

A subsequent North-South corridor will form the second phase, a more ambitious project proposing to connect 23 km of the city with 15 elevated and five underground stations having an estimated cost of Rs 6583 crore. The project is proposed to come up under a public-private partnership, for which financial bids are under way.
Jaipur Metro cars have been specially designed and manufactured by Bangalore’s Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) for the standard gauge line.

The Metro cars  are indigenously designed and developed for smooth riding comfort of passengers. One train-set consist of four cars with a total capacity to carry 1314 passengers at a time.

The BEML has been given contract for manufacturing 40 cabins for the first phase at a cost of Rs 500 crore. The cost of one cabin is estimated at Rs 12.5 crore and each train comprises of four cabins. An important feature of Jaipur Metro is that the coaches are considered much superior to the ones made for other metros in collaboration with foreign companies. Two trains have already reached Jaipur and rest are under construction. Currently, the static and dynamic testing of the train is underway at the Mansarovar depot before the trial run begins by the end of this month.

With only a partly finished signalling and telecommunication system, the first 9.5-km corridor will be initially operated as a “single train system with line side signals.” JMRC chairman and managing director Nihal Chand Goyal said,  “We want to ensure that the benefits of the project reach the commuters at the earliest. In such a big project it is not possible to have it completely ready at one go.”

The Congress-led government views it as a trophy project and obviously wants to take credit for it in the election year. No wonder the Ashok Gehlot government wants to inaugurate it before the election code of conduct comes into force for the Assembly elections in November, 2013.