Chief secy also seeks report on ‘alternatives’
LUCKNOW: A day after setting up of UP Metro Rail Corporation, chief secretary Rajive Kumar directed officials to send the revised detailed project reports of Kanpur, Agra and Meerut metro rails to the Centre immediately after necessary approvals from the state government.
The chief secretary also set July 1 deadline for commencement of work on the proposed Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Rapid Rail Transit System (RRTS).
The new Metro Rail Policy 2017 makes alternate analysis of other modes of mass transit system like BRTS (Bus Rapid Transit System), Light Rail Transit etc mandatory.
It states that least cost mass transit mode should be selected for public transport in terms of terms of demand, capacity, cost and ease of implementation. The new guidelines opens a big window for private investments across a range of metro operations making PPP component mandatory for availing central assistance for new metro projects.
Private investment and other innovative forms of financing of metro projects have been made compulsory to meet the huge resource demand for capital intensive high capacity metro projects.
Consequently, Kumar, who was taking stock of proposed metro rail projects in the state here on Wednesday, asked the officials to also send the comprehensive mobility plan study and alternate analysis report along with the DPR of these cities.
According to sources, historical cities (including Gorakhpur) may now have to opt for RRTS instead of metro rail.
Setting up of Urban Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) has also been made mandatory under the new metro policy to prepare Comprehensive Mobility Plans for cities for ensuring complete multi-modal integration for optimal utilization of capacities.
The chief secretary asked the officials to complete necessary formalities for inviting bids for the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Rapid Rail Transit System project and set 2024 completion deadline for RRTS which would be implemented as a joint venture by National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) and four state governments, namely Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan.