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Chandigarh (Metro Rail News): Amidst all the delays, the Tricity Metro Project has progressed with new extensions. The draft of the Alternative Analysis Report (AAR) which was prepared by Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES), suggests new extensions of 6.15 km for Tricity Metro.
Initial Plan for Tricity Metro:
Initially, the project had a length of 79.50 km. With the addition of this new extension, the Tricity Metro project will cover a total length of 85.65 km.
The new extensions are:
- Zirakpur bus stand -Panchkula (3.50 km)
- Sukhna Lake to Sector 43 ISBT (2.50 km)
The report also features a comprehensive geotechnical analysis, identifying depot locations in Chandigarh, Mohali, and Panchkula. In response to this, the Punjab government granted 50 acres of land to facilitate the construction of a depot for the metro project.
Additionally, the AAR report recommends that a two-coach metro rail system is the most viable option for the Tricity Metro project which will connect Chandigarh, Mohali, and Panchkula.
In the beginning, both the Metrolite and two-coach Metro were proposed but the plan of metrolite was dropped due as it would not meet peak hour demand and was expected to become saturated by 2054-2055.
The metro option is more viable than the Metrolite because during the peak hour the metrollite can accommodate about 15000 passengers while on the other hand, a metro rail features capacity to accommodate up to 100,000 passengers.
The final routes will cover major areas including Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula, Zirakpur, New Chandigarh, and Pinjore.
