On Monday, the Chandigarh Administration asked RITES to come up with a fresh mobility plan for Chandigarh after it said that the agency’s 2009 report, which recommended a Metro, is outdated for the city. A meeting was held on Monday with officials of RITES and the Union Territory Adviser. The 2009 report made by RITES included a comprehensive mobility plan (CMP) for the UT administration proposed Metro system, bus rapid transit system as well as commuters’ rail service. A fresh mobility plan will be created, Chandigarh Adviser Dharam Pal said. He was quoted in an IE report saying that the RITES has been asked for a fresh plan’s preparation since there are many new features that have to be added. The report of 2009 is now outdated. Also, multiple things have to be included in the new plan such as the updated traffic data along with other actuals on the ground, Pal said.
The new report which is yet to be created will consider the new criteria for various transport modes after the data on traffic is taken into consideration. In the fresh mobility plan, new modes of transport will be recommended.
What was recommended in the 2009 RITES report?
In the year 2009, it was proposed by RITES that the Metro network will cover 52.4 km distance, of which 40.4 km distance will fall in Chandigarh, while the rest in Mohali. The underground metro system was estimated to cost Rs 320 crore per km while the surface alignment of the system was expected to cost Rs 140 crore per km. The proposed project of MRTS suggested a Metro, bus rapid transit system as well as rail service for commuters, which was likely to cost around Rs 15, 000 crore. The project was expected to take about four years’ time to complete but it never took off.
For the traffic project, RITES (Rail India Technical and Economic Services) was selected as a consultant. The draft CMP for Chandigarh, which was presented covered aspects related to routes of Metro system, BRT corridors, NMT pathways, grade separators, RUB/ROBs, parking facilities, integrated freight complex as well as cost and revenue modes which were required in the entire project. As per the draft CMP, RITES had proposed as many as 18 corridors under the MRTS project, of which five corridors were to be for Metro network, three corridors for commuter rail services and the remaining ones for the BRTS.
Why did the Metro system never take off?
According to the report, when BJP came to power and MP Kirron Kher was elected, she opposed the metro project in Chandigarh. She would never want a small city like Chandigarh to get uprooted for the Metro system, Kher had stated earlier. The MP had also mentioned that the financial viability is not being fulfilled by the Metro. In the year 2017, the proposal for having a Metro system in Chandigarh was also rejected by the Centre, stating that it was not feasible. A monorail was suggested by Kher for the city. But after that, no step was taken in this regard. A French firm was also asked to prepare a report on Chandigarh’s traffic issues. But its proposal was shelved citing wrong methodology, the report added.