DEHRADUN (Metro Rail News): On Monday, the Uttarakhand government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for setting up two ropeway projects in Dehradun.
Officials claimed that this would make Doon the first city in the country to have ropeway as a mass transit system. The officials added that DMRC would study the project feasibility and hand over a detailed project report (DPR) to the state government in five months.
Initially, the government had planned to link Dehradun, Haridwar, and Rishikesh with a metro train and a separate entity named Uttarakhand Metro Rail, Urban Infrastructure & Buildings Construction Corporation Limited was also set up for the purpose.
However, a study found that it was not feasible to have a metro in most places in these three locations. Following this, the state government decided to have ropeways for Dehradun, Personal Transit Rapid or Pod cars for Haridwar and Light Transit Rapid to connect Dehradun, Rishikesh, and Haridwar.
According to the initial groundwork done by Uttarakhand Metro Rail staff, the total length of the two proposed ropeways would be around 25 km, which they claimed may “slightly differ” when the final DPR is prepared. The construction of a one-km stretch of the ropeway would cost between Rs 70 crore and Rs 90 crore. The overall project cost is estimated to be around Rs 2,200 crore.
The officials added that two routes have been finalized for the project. The first one is from ISBT to Clock Tower to Rispana Bridge and the second would start near Forest Research Institute (FRI) and end at Kandoli via Clock Tower.
DMRC is expected to prepare the DPR in five months and thereafter the project is likely to be completed in another two years. Once DMRC hands over the DPR, the state would invite tender bids for the project. Each cabin car of the ropeway would have the facility to carry 10 passengers with a speed of 25 km/hour, officials said.
The MoU was signed in the state assembly building on Monday in the presence of urban development minister Madan Kaushik. Kaushik told, “The project has several advantages. Not only will it cost far less than the metro rail, but it will also be completed faster. It will have less intrusion on the ground and have less effect on the city’s skyline.”
He added that the ropeways need not follow the roads and therefore will reduce the traveling distance. “It will cost over Rs 2 crore to prepare the DPR, for which we have released the first installment of Rs 43.20 lakh to Delhi Metro. With this project, Dehradun will become the first city in the country to have ropeways as a mass transit system.”
