The Haryana Mass Rapid Transport Corporation Limited (HMRTC) is considering a new Metro corridor to link Faridabad and Gurgaon through a double decker viaduct in arrangement with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), according to Haryana chief secretary Sanjeev Kaushal.
The proposed 30.8-km long alignment will connect Sector 45 in Gurgaon to Bata Chowk on the Badarpur-Escort Mujesar Metro corridor in Faridabad. A double decker viaduct is a three-tier transportation system comprising a highway flyover at the first level, a Metro rail at the second level and the existing highway at the ground level.
The HMRTC board had approved Metro link between Rajiv Chowk and Panchgaon. The total length of the Metro alignment will be around 35 km and the corridor will comprise 20 Metro stations.
The 28.5-km Metro project between Huda City Centre and Cyber City has been included under the Pradan Mantri Gati Shakti Projects. It is now with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) for a final approval. PM Gati Shakti includes infrastructure projects of several ministries and state governments, with an aim to boost connectivity and make businesses more competitive.
The Delhi government will be requested to clear the detailed project reports (DPR) and provide financial commitments to Rapid Rail Transport System (RRTS) corridors Sarai Kale-Shahjahanpur-Neemrana-Behror (SNB) and Sarai Kale Khan (SKK)-Panipat, Kaushal said. These planned projects aim to provide efficient and environment friendly mass transport in the National Capital Region (NCR) while boosting commercial development in Gurgaon and neighbouring areas.
Kaushal further added that the number of daily commuters taking the Gurgaon Metro has risen to 42,000 passengers in the financial year 2022-23, which is a huge increase from 8,500 passengers recorded during 2021-22.
“The Metro rail has performed well in the past 10 months and collected revenue worth Rs 34.24 crore in 2022-23 (up to January) as against Rs 6.78 crore during the corresponding period in 2021-2022,” he said. Note that Metro travel was severely impacted during 2021-22 due to several pandemic-induced lockdowns. Kaushal said the revenue has increased due to the rise in ridership and other commercial and marketing activities.
Kaushal asked the HMRTC to form a committee to explore new ways to increase ridership and look at providing last-mile connectivity to daily commuters. He asked the board to earn more non-fare revenue by developing parking lots and selling advertisement space and through rentals.
