Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan unveiled the first look of the Metro coach in Bhopal on Saturday.
“A dream we saw in 2016, to have a metro rail in Bhopal and Indore, is going to be fulfilled soon,” said the CM after unveiling the model coach at Smart City Park. It instantly turned into a selfie point.
Chouhan asked the people to stop by the coach and give their suggestions. Terming the moment as a milestone for Bhopal’s public transport, Chouhan said: “Today is the day when a resolution and a dream come true. We are heading towards operating metro trains in Bhopal and Indore.”
The coach will be operational after about six months of trial from September. “It will be a milestone in the development of MP. I have full faith that passenger operations will start next year,” he said.
Officials say the coach has the highest safety rating. In addition to CCTVs, there will be an emergency communication system, a display unit, and an ultramodern lighting system in the metro.
The metro train, according to Chouhan, won’t be restricted to Bhopal City alone. It will travel from Bhopal to Mandideep before travelling via Bairagarh to Sehore. The trial run of the metro train will start in Indore and Bhopal in the month of September this year and the train will start running by April-May.
In Bhopal and Indore, preparations are being made for 5- and 6-kilometer metro trial runs. The metro’s Orange and Blue lines, which will have a combined track length of 31 kilometres, are now being built in Bhopal. The construction of this will cost Rs 7,000 crore.
The Orange Line is 17 km from Karond square to AIIMS and the Blue Line is 14 km from Bhadbhada square to Ratnagiri square. The work of Orange Line is going on at a fast pace. The Indore Metro is at present constructing the Yellow Line. Its cost is Rs 7,500 crore, and its overall length is 31 kilometres.
